Investigating the efficacy of different commercial forms of quercetin against breast cancer

Abstract

Aim: The anti-cancer mechanisms of quercetin have been elucidated in several studies. These mechanisms are controlled by different signalling pathways within the cancer cell. This study examined the lethal effects of commercially available quercetin extracts at different doses on cancer cell lines.

Methods: In our study, we used 3 different commercially available supplements and looked at how well they worked against breast cancer. In our study, the presence of cell death was determined by first performing the MTT assay on the 4t1 breast cancer cell line. Additionally, cell mode was applied by staining quercetin extracts in the same commercial forms with Bax antibody to determine death mode at the same doses.

Results: The analysis showed that although the highest dose of quercetin (500 µM) induced apoptotic processes in cancer cells, no death was observed at the lower dose in two different supplements.

Conclusions: Our study results indicate that quercetin selectively inhibits cancer cell proliferation and likely induces apoptosis, making it a promising candidate for cancer therapy with potentially fewer side effects. We believe that further clinical and experimental studies are needed to elucidate its mechanisms and optimize its therapeutic application.