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Di Liberto D, Iacuzzi N, Pratelli G, Porrello A, Maggio A, La Bella S, De Blasio A, Notaro A, D’Anneo A, Emanuele S, Affranchi F, Giuliano M, Lauricella M, Carlisi D. Cytotoxic Effect Induced by Sicilian Oregano Essential Oil in Human Breast Cancer Cells. Cells 2023; 12:2733. [PMID: 38067161 PMCID: PMC10706043 DOI: 10.3390/cells12232733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2023] [Revised: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Origanum vulgare L. is an aromatic plant that exerts antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor activities, mainly due to its essential oil (EO) content. In this study, we investigated the possible mechanism underlying the in vitro antitumor activity of EO extracted by hydrodistillation of dried flowers and leaves of Origanum vulgare L. grown in Sicily (Italy) in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of Oregano essential oil (OEO) composition highlighted the presence of twenty-six major phytocompounds, such as p-cymene, γ-terpinene, and thymoquinone p-acetanisole. OEO possesses strong antioxidant capacity, as demonstrated by the DPPH test. Our studies provided evidence that OEO reduces the viability of both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. The cytotoxic effect of OEO on breast cancer cells was partially counteracted by the addition of z-VAD-fmk, a general caspase inhibitor. Caspases and mitochondrial dysfunction appeared to be involved in the OEO-induced death mechanism. Western blotting analysis showed that OEO-induced activation of pro-caspases-9 and -3 and fragmentation of PARP decreased the levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL while increasing those of Bax and VDAC. In addition, fluorescence microscopy and cytofluorimetric analysis showed that OEO induces a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in both cell lines. Furthermore, we tested the effects of p-cymene, γ-terpinene, thymoquinone, and p-acetanisole, which are the main components of OEO. Our findings highlighted that the effect of OEO on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells appears to be mainly due to the combination of different constituents of OEO, providing evidence of the potential use of OEO for breast cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Di Liberto
- Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (BIND), Institute of Biochemistry, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy; (D.D.L.); (S.E.)
| | - Nicolò Iacuzzi
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy; (N.I.); (S.L.B.)
| | - Giovanni Pratelli
- Department of Physics and Chemistry (DiFC)-Emilio Segrè, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy;
| | - Antonella Porrello
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), Section of Chemistry, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy; (A.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Antonella Maggio
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), Section of Chemistry, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy; (A.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Salvatore La Bella
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy; (N.I.); (S.L.B.)
| | - Anna De Blasio
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy; (A.D.B.); (A.N.); (A.D.); (F.A.); (M.G.)
| | - Antonietta Notaro
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy; (A.D.B.); (A.N.); (A.D.); (F.A.); (M.G.)
| | - Antonella D’Anneo
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy; (A.D.B.); (A.N.); (A.D.); (F.A.); (M.G.)
| | - Sonia Emanuele
- Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (BIND), Institute of Biochemistry, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy; (D.D.L.); (S.E.)
| | - Federica Affranchi
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy; (A.D.B.); (A.N.); (A.D.); (F.A.); (M.G.)
| | - Michela Giuliano
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy; (A.D.B.); (A.N.); (A.D.); (F.A.); (M.G.)
| | - Marianna Lauricella
- Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (BIND), Institute of Biochemistry, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy; (D.D.L.); (S.E.)
| | - Daniela Carlisi
- Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (BIND), Institute of Biochemistry, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy; (D.D.L.); (S.E.)
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