| Rank |
Pathway / Axis |
Cancer Cells |
Normal Cells |
TSF |
Primary Effect |
Notes / Interpretation |
| 1 |
NF-κB / AP-1 signaling |
NF-κB ↓; AP-1 ↓; downstream pro-survival/inflammatory outputs ↓ |
↔ or anti-inflammatory modulation in immune cells |
R, G |
Pro-survival & inflammatory transcription suppression |
Garcinol is reported to inhibit NF-κB and AP-1 transcriptional activity, reducing inflammation and pro-growth signaling in multiple models. |
| 2 |
Epigenetic regulation (HAT/HDAC modulation) |
Inhibition of p300/CBP histone acetyltransferase; altered acetylation patterns |
↔ baseline epigenetic state |
R, G |
Gene regulatory reprogramming |
Garcinol directly inhibits histone acetyltransferases (especially p300/CBP), influencing chromatin state and gene expression linked to differentiation and proliferation. |
| 3 |
Intrinsic apoptosis (mitochondrial / caspase-linked) |
↑ Bax/Bak; ↓ Bcl-2/Bcl-xL; ↑ caspase-9/3 |
↔ minimal activation in normal cells |
G |
Execution of apoptosis |
Often downstream of stress and survival pathway modulation; not as dominant as classic pro-oxidant molecules but consistent in many cell lines. |
| 4 |
Cell-cycle checkpoints (p21/p27; Cyclin D1) |
Cell-cycle arrest (often G1/S); Cyclin D1 ↓ |
↔ |
G |
Cytostasis |
Frequently reported as later phenotypic outcome tied to reduced proliferation. |
| 5 |
Invasion / metastasis programs (MMPs / EMT) |
MMP-2/9 ↓; invasion/migration ↓; EMT markers ↓ |
↔ |
G |
Anti-invasive phenotype |
Linked mechanistically to NF-κB/AP-1 and epigenetic changes influencing MMP expression and EMT regulators. |
| 6 |
Angiogenesis signaling (VEGF & pro-angiogenic factors) |
VEGF ↓; pro-angiogenic markers ↓ |
↔ |
G |
Anti-angiogenic support |
Sometimes measured in later in vivo or emulated assay systems; reflects downstream gene expression changes. |
| 7 |
PI3K/AKT / survival kinases |
↓ PI3K/AKT signaling (model-dependent) |
↔ |
R, G |
Survival/growth suppression |
Modulation of survival kinases is reported in some systems but not a universal primary mechanism. |
| 8 |
ROS / oxidative stress (context–dependent) |
ROS modulation (inconsistent across models) |
↔ |
P, R, G |
Conditional stress modulation |
Some studies report mild ROS changes, but garcinol is not a strong pro-oxidant driver like BetA or curcumin in cancer cells. |
| 9 |
Chemo-sensitization / combination relevance |
Enhanced sensitivity to chemotherapeutics (context) |
— |
G |
Combination leverage |
Combination effects are reported in selected cell lines/model systems; not universal. |
| 10 |
Bioavailability constraint (oral exposure / formulation dependence) |
Systemic exposure often limited without enhanced delivery |
— |
— |
Translation constraint |
Poor native bioavailability is common across polyphenols/bzp molecules; formulations improve systemic exposure. |