| Rank | Pathway / Axis | Cancer / Tumor Context | Normal Tissue Context | TSF | Primary Effect | Notes / Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROS / Redox modulation (biphasic) | ROS ↑ at higher concentrations (reported); mitochondrial stress ↑ | ROS ↓; antioxidant protection | P, R | Redox destabilization (tumor) / buffering (normal) | GA demonstrates dose-dependent redox behavior; pro-oxidant effects are most evident ≥50–100 µM in vitro. |
| 2 | Nrf2 / ARE antioxidant response | Context-dependent; may support stress adaptation | Nrf2 ↑; HO-1 ↑; GSH ↑ | R, G | Redox regulation | Activation common in non-malignant oxidative stress models; tumor implications vary and may affect therapy sensitivity. |
| 3 | NF-κB inflammatory signaling | NF-κB ↓; COX-2, IL-6, TNF-α ↓ (reported) | Inflammation tone ↓ | R, G | Anti-inflammatory + anti-survival transcription | One of the more consistent signaling findings across inflammatory and tumor models. |
| 4 | Intrinsic apoptosis (mitochondrial; p53-related) | ΔΨm ↓; Bax ↑; Bcl-2 ↓; caspases ↑; cyt-c ↑ (reported) | ↔ (limited activation) | G | Cell death execution | Often ROS-mediated; p53 activation reported in several systems. |
| 5 | Cell-cycle checkpoints (G1 / G2-M) | Cell-cycle arrest ↑ (Cyclin/CDK modulation) | ↔ | G | Cytostasis | Phase varies by tumor model; commonly G1 or G2/M. |
| 6 | PI3K → AKT (± mTOR) | PI3K/AKT signaling ↓ (reported; model-dependent) | ↔ | R, G | Growth/survival suppression | Likely secondary to redox and inflammatory signaling modulation. |
| 7 | MAPK pathways (ERK / JNK / p38) | JNK/p38 activation; ERK modulation (context-dependent) | ↔ | P, R, G | Stress signaling reprogramming | Often linked to ROS-mediated apoptosis pathways. |
| 8 | Angiogenesis signaling (VEGF) | VEGF ↓ (reported in some models) | ↔ | G | Anti-angiogenic modulation | Evidence present but less consistent than redox and NF-κB effects. |
| 9 | Invasion / metastasis (MMPs / EMT) | MMP2/MMP9 ↓; migration ↓ (reported) | ↔ | G | Anti-invasive phenotype | Likely downstream of NF-κB and MAPK modulation. |
| 10 | Bioavailability constraint (phase II metabolism) | Rapid glucuronidation/sulfation; free GA low | — | — | Translation constraint | Plasma levels after dietary intake are generally below many in-vitro cytotoxic concentrations. |
Time-Scale Flag (TSF): P / R / G