| Rank |
Pathway / Axis |
Cancer Cells (↑/↓/↔ + qualifiers) |
Normal Cells (↑/↓/↔ + qualifiers) |
TSF |
Primary Effect |
Notes / Interpretation |
| 1 |
ROS Modulation |
↑ ROS (high conc., pro-oxidant); ↓ ROS (low conc.) |
↓ ROS (protective; dose-dependent) |
P–R |
Redox stress induction or buffering |
Metal-chelating flavonol; can shift to pro-oxidant under tumor oxidative stress, enabling apoptosis. |
| 2 |
PI3K/Akt/mTOR |
↓ Akt phosphorylation (model-dependent) |
↔ / mild inhibition |
R–G |
Anti-proliferative signaling |
Common in breast, colon, and prostate cell models; often ≥10 µM required. |
| 3 |
MAPK (ERK/JNK/p38) |
↓ ERK; ↑ JNK/p38 (stress-activated; context) |
↔ / adaptive stress response |
R |
Pro-apoptotic signaling shift |
Promotes apoptotic cascades via stress kinase activation. |
| 4 |
NF-κB |
↓ NF-κB activation |
↓ NF-κB (anti-inflammatory) |
R–G |
Anti-inflammatory modulation |
May reduce tumor-promoting inflammation. |
| 5 |
Mitochondrial Apoptosis (Caspase / ΔΨm) |
↑ Bax; ↓ Bcl-2; ↑ caspase-3 |
↔ / protective at low dose |
R–G |
Intrinsic apoptosis activation |
Frequently observed in leukemia and solid tumor models at supra-physiologic doses. |
| 6 |
NRF2 Axis |
↔ / mild ↑ (context-dependent) |
↑ NRF2 (cytoprotection) |
R–G |
Adaptive antioxidant response |
Less potent NRF2 activator than electrophilic isothiocyanates. |
| 7 |
Ca²⁺ Signaling |
↑ intracellular Ca²⁺ (mitochondrial stress; model-dependent) |
↔ |
R |
Apoptosis facilitation |
Reported in some hepatoma and leukemia models. |
| 8 |
Ferroptosis |
↔ / potentially ↓ (iron-chelating) |
↔ |
— |
Lipid peroxidation modulation |
Chelation may counter ferroptosis unless combined with pro-oxidant triggers. |
| 9 |
Clinical Translation Constraint |
Low oral bioavailability; plasma <1 µM; most anticancer studies use 10–100 µM |
— |
PK limitation |
Conjugation and rapid metabolism limit systemic tumor exposure. |