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

Abstract

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.