Cytotoxic Activity of Essential Oils from Labiatae and Lauraceae Families Against Human Tumor In Vitro Models

The aim of this work was to study thecytotoxicity of essential oils and their identified constituents fromS. perfoliata, S. thymbra, S. officinalis, L. nobilis, and P.palestina. Materials and Methods: Essential oils were obtainedby hydrodistillation and were analysed by gas chromatography(GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (MS). The cytotoxic activitywas evaluated in amelanotic melanoma C32, renal celladenocarcinoma ACHN, hormone dependent prostatecarcinoma LNCaP, and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines by thesulforodamine B (SRB) assay. Results: L. nobilis fruit oil exertedthe highest activity with IC50 values on C32 and ACHN of 75.45and 78.24 Ìg/ml, respectively. The activity of S. perfoliata oil onboth cell lines (IC50 of 100.90 mg/ml for C32 and 98.58 Ìg/mlfor ACHN, respectively) was also interesting. Among the testedconstituents the highest activity was found when ·-humulenewas applied to LNCaP cells (IC50 of 11.24 Ìg/ml). Conclusion:This study suggests for the first time the ability of S. perfoliata, S.thymbra, S. officinalis, L. nobilis, and P. palestina essential oilsand some identified terpenes to inhibit human tumor cellgrowth.