During the past five decades, cancer cell lines are being successfully used as an in vitro model to discover the anti-cancer potential of plant secondary metabolites. Fisetin - the most popular polyphenol from fruits and vegetables, exhibits a repertoire of promising pharmacological features. Such versatile properties make fisetin an excellent anticancer agent and its efficacy as a chemotherapeutic agent against tumor heterogeneity from in vitro studies are encouraging. Fisetin is like a Pandora's box, as more research studies are being carried out, it reveals its new molecules within the cancer cells as therapeutic targets. These molecular targets orchestrate processes such as apoptosis, autophagic cell death, cell cycle, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis in cancer cells. Besides apoptotic elicitation, fisetin's ability to induce autophagic cell death in cancer cells has been reported. This review examines the various molecular mechanisms of action elicited by fisetin leading to apoptosis and autophagic cell death as evidenced from cancer cell lines. In addition, the increased bioavailability and sustained release of fisetin improved through conjugation and enhanced effect of fisetin through synergism on various cancers are also highlighted.
Keywords: Apoptosis; Autophagic cell death; Cancer; Chemotherapeutic agent; Combination therapy; Fisetin.
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