Table 1.
Overview of anti-tumor effects and its major mediating signaling pathways of cinnamaldehyde on various tumor types, including inhibiting tumor growth, inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing apoptosis, etc.
| Cell lines or animal models | Routes of administration | Dosage | Anti-tumor effect | Major related signaling pathways | Suppressed components | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A549 and NCI–H1650 cell lines (lung adenocarcinoma); five-week-old female BALB/c nude mice model | Intraperitoneal | 100 mg/kg once daily | Induces apoptosis by arresting cell cycle | Caspase, NF-κB | MMP-2 and MMP-9, VEGF, Cyclin D1 | [79,117] |
| Human colorectal carcinoma cells HCT116 obtained from the ATCC (CCL-247) | Oral | 0.1% or 0.5% for the duration of 5 days | Causes a synergistic impact on apoptosis and inhibits the drug-metabolizing genes | – | ERCC1, TS, BRCA1 and TOPO1 | [152,153] |
| Human ovarian cancer cell lines SKOV3 and A2780; a subcutaneous transplantation tumor model | Intraperitoneal | 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg CA every 3 days | Stimulates cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase | PI3K/AKT | The phosphorylation levels of mTOR, PI3K, and AKT | [140] |
| Prostate Cancer-associated fibroblasts (PF179T); C57 mice model | – | – | Induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis | Caspase, TLR4 | Bcl-2, Caspase 9, PARP, and DEF-45 | [83,125] |
| Renca cells, a BALB/c-derived renal adenocarcinoma cell line; six-week-old male BALB/c mice model | Intraperitoneal | 10 mg/kg dose of CA or saline once a day for a week | Blocks tumor angiogenesis | mTOR pathway | VEGF, HIF-1α | [88] |
| Oral cancer cells (SCC-4, SCC-9, SCC-25) | – | – | Induces apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and autophagy | NF-κB | VEGF, COX-2, Bcl-2 | [154] |
Abbreviations: VEGF, Vascular endothelial growth factor; PARP, Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase; TLR4, Toll-like receptor 4; Caspase, Cysteine-aspartic proteases; NF-κB, Nuclear factor-Kb; COX-2, Cyclooxygenase-2; PI3K, Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; AKT, Protein kinase B; MMPs, Matrix metalloproteinases; HIF, Hypoxia-inducible factor; ERCC1, Excision repair cross-complementing 1; TOPO1, Topoisomerase 1; Bcl-2, B-cell lymphoma protein 2; mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin.