Anticancer Effects of Carvacrol in In Vitro and In Vivo Models: A Comprehensive Review

Carvacrol is an active phenolic monoterpenoid with enormous anticancerous potential against numerous carcinomas, including prostate, gall bladder, and cervical, and has gained wider recognition in chemotherapeutics. Therefore, this review targeted to study and summarize various in vitro and in vivo research studies associated with the anticancerous potential of carvacrol with its associated mechanisms in several carcinomas. Carvacrol-treated cancer cells have exhibited significant apoptotic induction, cell cycle arrest, cytotoxicity, antimetastatic activity, and different antiproliferative effects via targeting numerous signaling pathways, including MAPKs, Notch PI3K, mTOR, and AKT. In vitro, carvacrol appears to be a highly potent phytoactive compound against several carcinomas. However, more in vivo research with better methodology are still needed to elucidate safe and standard dose, determine their toxic effects and elaborate its exact mode of action to develop a potential therapeutic approach for cancer management.

Automated summary

Carvacrol is an active compound with enormous anticancer potential, showing antiproliferative and apoptotic effects in various cancers by targeting multiple signaling pathways. Although in vitro experiments demonstrate the potent phytoactivity of Carvacrol against several cancers, further in vivo research is needed to determine safe dosage, toxicity, and mode of action.