Anthocyanins: Promising Natural Compounds for Prevention and Treatment of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

 Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common oral cancer. In recent decades, numerous studies have focused on the effects of new herbal and natural bioactive substances or pharmaceutical products on different cancer types. Some investigations have shown that anthocyanins can inhibit carcinogenesis in various ways, and some others focused on the effects of anthocyanins on squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

 An electronic search of the literature was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases using the keywords “anthocyanins” and “oral cancer” or “oral squamous cell carcinoma”. Articles relevant to our topic (except for review articles) were included in this study.

 The reviewed articles showed the inhibitory and suppressive effects of anthocyanins on OSCC, which were exerted by inhibiting NF-κB, p-Akt/PI3k, and JAK/STAT3 pathways, the induction of caspase-1 and caspase-3 overexpression, pyroptosis, mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis, and reduction of expression and production of matrix metalloproteinases and urokinase-type plasminogen activator.

 Based on the results, the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of anthocyanins on OSCC were dominant. Their antimetastatic effect was also reported. Therefore, anthocyanins seem to be promising natural compounds for the prevention and treatment of OSCC. In vivo studies and clinical trials are recommended to further confirm these results.