Emerging Anticancer Metabolite, Carvacrol, and its Action Mechanism

Across the world, cancer is a major health problem in the population, causing ten million deaths a year in most countries. Studies on a promising group of natural compounds and their derivatives to devise effective treatments for various types of cancers are in progress and gaining popularity among researchers. Carvacrol is a phenolic compound with substituents of methyl and isopropyl with diverse pharmacological potential synthesized in the cytosol of the plants of the Labiatae family via a mevalonic acid pathway, carvacrol. This review article is aiming to interpret and analyze the chemistry, toxicity, and anticancer property of carvacrol along with its action mechanism. Recent studies on carvacrol using in vitro and in vivo models revealed the potential of carvacrol as an emerging anticancer compound. The present review examines the potential of carvacrol to treat cancer in a dose-dependent manner with respect to its metabolic interventions.