METHODS: Breast cancer cells were cultured in a 96-well plate, then one of twenty essential oils was added dropwise to the central well. The plate was incubated at 37 °C for 48 h and the effect of the volatile components of each essential oil on the surrounding breast cancer cell growth ability was examined using an MTT assay. Gas chromatography was used to investigate the concentration of the transpiration components that may affect cancer cells.
RESULTS: Of the 20 essential oils, Lemongrass, Lemon myrtle, Litsea, and Melissa displayed strong anti-tumor effects. These essential oils inhibited the growth of nearby breast cancer cells, even when diluted more than 500-fold. The transpiration component of lemon Myrtle showed the strongest antitumor effect, but was the least cytotoxic to mononuclear cells in normal peripheral blood (PBMC). Each of these essential oils contained a very large amount of citral. The IC50 against breast cancer cells when citral was volatilized from each essential oil was 1.67 µL/mL for geranial and 1.31 µL/mL for neral. Volatilized citral alone showed strong anti-proliferation and infiltration-inhibiting effects.
CONCLUSIONS: The transpiration components of Lemongrass, Lemon myrtle, Litsea, and Melissa are thought to inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation due to their high levels of citral.
方法:在96孔板中培养乳腺癌细胞,然后将二十种精油之一滴加到中央井中。将板在37°C下孵育48小时,并使用MTT测定法检查每种精油的挥发性成分对周围乳腺癌细胞生长能力的影响。气相色谱法用于研究可能影响癌细胞的蒸腾成分的浓度。
结果:在20种精油中,柠檬草,柠檬桃金娘,Litsea,和Melissa表现出强烈的抗肿瘤作用。这些精油抑制了附近乳腺癌细胞的生长,即使稀释超过500倍。柠檬桃金娘的蒸腾成分表现出最强的抗肿瘤作用,但对正常外周血(PBMC)中的单核细胞细胞毒性最小。这些精油中的每一种都含有大量的柠檬醛。当柠檬醛从每种精油中挥发时,对乳腺癌细胞的IC50为1.67µL/mL,对于neral为1.31µL/mL。单独使用挥发性柠檬醛具有很强的抗增殖和浸润抑制作用。
结论:柠檬草的蒸腾成分,柠檬桃金娘,Litsea,和Melissa被认为由于其高水平的柠檬醛而抑制乳腺癌细胞增殖。