Anti-tumor effect of paeonol via regulating NF-κB, AKT and MAPKs activation: A quick review

Paeonol, an active component extracted from Chinese herbs, Moutan cortex and Cynanchum paniculatum, has been characterized for its various biological activities, including sedation, hypnosis, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, and immunoregulation. Recently, paeonol was investigated to regulate the signalling pathways, including NF-κB, PI3K/PTEN/AKT and ERK/JNK/P38/MAPKs activations, which have been proposed to inhibit apoptosis and induce proliferation in human cancer. In this review, we summarized the literature documenting the involvement of the relationship between anti-tumor effect of paeonol and those signalling pathways.