Ellagic acid / Apoptosis Cancer Research Results

EA, Ellagic acid: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Polyphenol found in fruits, vegetables, nuts and some mushrooms. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries and walnuts, green tea and red wine. Pomegranate arils are a well known source.
Ellagic acid (EA) is a dietary polyphenol found in berries and pomegranate-related foods, with reported anti-inflammatory (NF-κB↓), survival-pathway suppression (PI3K/AKT↓), and anti-proliferative effects including G1 arrest and apoptosis in many cancer models. A key practical nuance is that EA/ellagitannins are extensively transformed by gut microbiota into urolithins, which are more bioavailable and may account for a large share of systemic effects.

- Ellagitannins are high molecular weight polyphenols with a complex structure that includes one or more HHDP groups attached to a sugar.
- Ellagic Acid is the simpler, bioactive compound released when the HHDP groups in ellagitannins cyclize during hydrolysis.
- one best source is raspberries. 100g gives ~50mg(reasonable dose)
- Ellagic acid has very poor oral bioavailability
- Peak plasma EA after high oral intake is typically: <50–100 nM, often much lower, this is far below concentrations used in many in-vitro anticancer studies (5–50 µM).
- efficacy depends on gut metabolism (ie ability to produce Urolithin A)
- also look at Urolithin supplements

Pathways:
Apoptosis Regulation: (Bax, Bad) (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL)
Cell Cycle Arrest: G0/G1 or G2/M phases)
NF-κB (inhibit):
MAPK Pathways: (including ERK1/2, JNK, and p38 MAPK)
PI3K/Akt/mTOR: might downregulate this pathway
p53 Pathway: may influence the expression or activation of p53
Oxidative Stress and Nrf2 Pathway:exhibits antioxidant properties,
Summary:
- Anti-oxidant and metal chelating
- with some evidence it can induce ROS in cancer tumor conditions (mitochondrial stress, redox-unstable cells)
- reported synergy with Curcumin
- Reported, reduced the viability of cancer cells at a concentration of 10 µmol/L, while in healthy cells, this effect was observed only at a concentration of 200 µmol/L
- Pomegranate juice (PJ) (180 ml) containing EA (25 mg) and ETs (318 mg, as punicalagins, the major fruit ellagitannin). Plasma concentration (31.9 ng/ml) after 1 h post-ingestion but was rapidly eliminated by 4 h. (Hence might be difficult to consume enough EA!!!! to match vitro requirements)
- Increased the expression of p53 and p21 proteins as well as markers of apoptosis (Bax and caspase-3), and decreases Bcl-2, NF-кB, and iNOS
- EA has restricted bioavailability, primarily due to its hydrophobic nature and very low water solubility.
- Processing methods can alter EA content; peel extraction often increases measured EA, while prolonged storage/freezing may reduce levels.

Total ellagic acid equivalents (free + bound).
Punica granatum L. Pomegranate 700mg/kg (arils), 38700mg/kg(mesocarp)
Rubus idaeus L. Raspberry 2637–3309mg/kg
jaglandaceae Walnut 410mg/kg(freeEA) 8230mg/kg(totalEA)

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells TSF Primary Effect Notes / Interpretation
1 NF-κB inflammatory transcription NF-κB ↓; pro-inflammatory cytokine programs ↓ (context) Inflammation tone ↓ R, G Anti-inflammatory / anti-survival transcription EA is repeatedly reported to suppress NF-κB activity and reduce inflammatory cytokine expression in tumor and inflammation models.
2 PI3K → AKT (± mTOR) survival axis PI3K/AKT ↓ (reported); proliferation ↓ ↔ R, G Growth/survival suppression Multiple cancer studies/reviews report EA-associated suppression of PI3K/AKT signaling linked to G1 arrest and apoptosis.
3 Cell-cycle control (G1 arrest emphasis) Cell-cycle arrest ↑ (often G1); Cyclin/CDK programs ↓ (context) ↔ G Cytostasis Frequently observed as a later phenotype-level outcome; commonly reported alongside reduced proliferation.
4 Intrinsic apoptosis (mitochondrial / caspase-linked) Apoptosis ↑; caspase activation ↑ (context) ↔ (generally less activation) G Apoptosis execution Often downstream of survival signaling suppression and/or stress signaling; reported across multiple tumor types.
5 Nrf2 antioxidant response (Keap1/Nrf2/ARE) Stress adaptation modulation (context-dependent) Nrf2 ↑; antioxidant enzymes ↑ (context) R, G Endogenous antioxidant upshift EA is commonly described as activating Nrf2/ARE programs in oxidative-stress models; tumor direction is model-dependent and should not be overstated.
6 ROS / oxidative stress Oxidative stress tone ↓ (often); ROS direction can vary by model ROS injury ↓ P, R, G Redox buffering (context-dependent) EA is widely characterized as antioxidant/anti-inflammatory; in cancer models, oxidative stress effects can be secondary to pathway reprogramming.
7 Invasion / metastasis programs (MMPs / EMT) MMPs ↓; migration/invasion ↓ (reported) ↔ G Anti-invasive phenotype Often reported as downstream outcomes tied to NF-κB and survival signaling changes; keep as “reported” (not universal).
8 Angiogenesis signaling (VEGF & angiogenic outputs) VEGF ↓; angiogenic outputs ↓ (reported) ↔ G Anti-angiogenic support Typically observed as later reductions in pro-angiogenic expression/secretion or angiogenesis assays.
9 One-carbon / microbiome conversion to urolithins (translation driver) Systemic activity often mediated by urolithins (e.g., urolithin A) rather than free EA — — PK / metabolite constraint EA and ellagitannins are transformed by gut microbiota into urolithins, bioavailable metabolites; inter-individual variation in “metabotypes” affects exposure and effects.
10 Bioavailability constraint (oral exposure) Free EA systemic exposure often limited (without formulation / metabolite reliance) — — Translation constraint EA has absorption/metabolism constraints; measuring metabolites (urolithins) is often more informative than EA alone.

Time-Scale Flag (TSF): P / R / G

  • P: 0–30 min (primary/rapid effects; early redox interactions)
  • R: 30 min–3 hr (acute stress-response + transcription signaling shifts)
  • G: >3 hr (gene-regulatory adaptation and phenotype-level outcomes)
Apoptosis, Apoptosis: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type: type of cell death
Situation in which a cell actively pursues a course toward death upon receiving certain stimuli.
Cancer is one of the scenarios where too little apoptosis occurs, resulting in malignant cells that will not die.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
1618- EA,    A comprehensive review on Ellagic acid in breast cancer treatment: From cellular effects to molecular mechanisms of action
- Review, BC, NA
TumCCA↑, TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, TumMeta↓, Apoptosis↑, TGF-β↓, SMAD3↓, CDK6↓, PI3K↓, Akt↓, angioG↓, VEGFR2↓, MAPK↓, NEDD9↓, NF-kB↓, eff↑, eff↑, RadioS↑, ChemoSen↑, DNAdam↑, eff↑, *toxicity∅, *toxicity∅,
4832- EA,    Experimental Evidence of the Antitumor, Antimetastatic and Antiangiogenic Activity of Ellagic Acid
*antiOx↑, *AntiCan↑, TumCMig↓, angioG↓, ChemoSen↑, RadioS↑, *chemoP↑, *BioAv↓, eff↓, selectivity↑, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, VEGF↓, TumCCA↑, Apoptosis↑, ROS↑, BioAv↑,
1621- EA,    The multifaceted mechanisms of ellagic acid in the treatment of tumors: State-of-the-art
- Review, Var, NA
AntiCan↑, Apoptosis↑, TumCP↓, TumMeta↓, TumCI↓, TumAuto↑, VEGFR2↓, MAPK↓, PI3K↓, Akt↓, PD-1↓, NOTCH↓, PCNA↓, Ki-67↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, CDK2↑, CDK6↓, Bcl-2↓, cl‑PARP↑, BAX↑, Casp3↑, DR4↑, DR5↑, Snail↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, TGF-β↑, PKCδ↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, SIRT1↓, HO-1↓, ROS↑, CHOP↑, Cyt‑c↑, MMP↓, OCR↓, AMPK↑, Hif1a↓, NF-kB↓, E-cadherin↑, Vim↓, EMT↓, LC3II↑, CIP2A↓, GLUT1↓, PDH↝, MAD↓, LDH↓, GSTs↑, NOTCH↓, survivin↓, XIAP↓, ER Stress↑, ChemoSideEff↓, ChemoSen↑,
1620- EA,  Rad,    Radiosensitizing effect of ellagic acid on growth of Hepatocellular carcinoma cells: an in vitro study
- in-vitro, Liver, HepG2
ROS↑, P53↑, TumCCA↑, IL6↓, COX2↓, TNF-α↓, MMP↓, angioG↓, MMP9↓, BAX↑, Casp3↑, Apoptosis↑, RadioS↑, TBARS↑, GSH↓, Bax:Bcl2↑, p‑NF-kB↓, p‑STAT3↓,
1607- EA,    Exploring the Potential of Ellagic Acid in Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention: Recent Advances and Future Directions
- Review, GC, NA
STAT3↓, TumCP↓, Apoptosis↑, NF-kB↓, EMT↓, RadioS↑, antiOx↑, COX1↓, COX2↓, cMyc↓, Snail↓, Twist↓, MMP2↓, P90RSK↓, CDK8↓, PI3K↓, Akt↓, TumCCA↑, Casp8↑, PCNA↓, TGF-β↓, Shh↓, NOTCH↓, IL6↓, ALAT↓, ALP↓, AST↓, VEGF↓, P21↑, *toxicity∅, *Inflam↓, *cardioP↑, *neuroP↑, *hepatoP↑, ROS↑, *NRF2↓, *GSH↑,
1606- EA,    Ellagic acid inhibits proliferation and induced apoptosis via the Akt signaling pathway in HCT-15 colon adenocarcinoma cells
- in-vitro, Colon, HCT15
TumCP↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, Apoptosis↑, PI3K↓, Akt↓, ROS↑, Casp3↑, Cyt‑c↑, Bcl-2↓, TumCCA↑, Dose∅, ALP↓, LDH↓, PCNA↓, P53↑, Bax:Bcl2↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 6 of 6

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 6

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 1,   GSH↓, 1,   GSTs↑, 1,   HO-1↓, 1,   MAD↓, 1,   ROS↑, 5,   TBARS↑, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

MMP↓, 2,   OCR↓, 1,   XIAP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

ALAT↓, 1,   AMPK↑, 1,   cMyc↓, 1,   LDH↓, 2,   PDH↝, 1,   SIRT1↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 4,   Apoptosis↑, 6,   BAX↑, 2,   Bax:Bcl2↑, 2,   Bcl-2↓, 2,   Casp3↑, 3,   Casp8↑, 1,   Cyt‑c↑, 2,   DR4↑, 1,   DR5↑, 1,   MAPK↓, 2,   survivin↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

CHOP↑, 1,   ER Stress↑, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes ⓘ

LC3II↑, 1,   TumAuto↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

DNAdam↑, 1,   P53↑, 2,   cl‑PARP↑, 1,   PCNA↓, 3,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

CDK2↑, 1,   cycD1/CCND1↓, 2,   P21↑, 1,   TumCCA↑, 5,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

CDK8↓, 1,   CIP2A↓, 1,   EMT↓, 2,   NOTCH↓, 3,   P90RSK↓, 1,   PI3K↓, 4,   Shh↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 1,   p‑STAT3↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

E-cadherin↑, 1,   Ki-67↓, 1,   MMP2↓, 3,   MMP9↓, 3,   NEDD9↓, 1,   PKCδ↓, 1,   SMAD3↓, 1,   Snail↓, 2,   TGF-β↓, 2,   TGF-β↑, 1,   TumCI↓, 2,   TumCMig↓, 2,   TumCP↓, 3,   TumMeta↓, 2,   Twist↓, 1,   Vim↓, 1,   β-catenin/ZEB1↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 3,   Hif1a↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 2,   VEGFR2↓, 2,  

Barriers & Transport ⓘ

GLUT1↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX1↓, 1,   COX2↓, 2,   IL6↓, 2,   NF-kB↓, 3,   p‑NF-kB↓, 1,   PD-1↓, 1,   TNF-α↓, 1,  

Hormonal & Nuclear Receptors ⓘ

CDK6↓, 2,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↑, 1,   ChemoSen↑, 3,   Dose∅, 1,   eff↓, 1,   eff↑, 3,   RadioS↑, 4,   selectivity↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

ALAT↓, 1,   ALP↓, 2,   AST↓, 1,   IL6↓, 2,   Ki-67↓, 1,   LDH↓, 2,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

AntiCan↑, 1,   ChemoSideEff↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 94

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 1,   GSH↑, 1,   NRF2↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

Inflam↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

AntiCan↑, 1,   cardioP↑, 1,   chemoP↑, 1,   hepatoP↑, 1,   neuroP↑, 1,   toxicity∅, 3,  
Total Targets: 11

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: Apoptosis, Apoptosis
6 Ellagic acid
1 Radiotherapy/Radiation
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells

Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:74  Target#:14  State#:%  Dir#:2
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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