Effect of (R)-(+) Pulegone on Ovarian Tissue; Correlation with Expression of Aromatase Cyp19 and Ovarian Selected Genes in Mice

Apoptosis Induced by Ziziphora tenuior Essential Oil in Human Colorectal Cancer Cells

Ziziphora (Cacotti in Persian) belongs to the Lamiaceae family (mint group) and is vastly found in Iran and Asia. This traditional medicinal plant is normally used as analgesic and for treatment of particular gastrointestinal diseases. Since colorectal cancer is one of the most common causes of death in the world and the second leading cause of cancer death among adults, there is a pressing need to inhibit this malignancy by using methods with minimal side effects. One of these methods is the use of natural resources such as medical plants. This study is aimed at investigating the expression of apoptosis-related genes in the adjacent culture of colorectal cancer epithelial cells (HT-29) with Ziziphora essential oil (ZEO). The essential oil was extracted from Ziziphora leaves, and its compounds were determined and then added to the HT-29 culture medium at different concentrations. After 24 hours, the HT-29 cells were harvested from the medium and cytotoxicity was analyzed by MTT assay. After MTT assay and determination of the percentage of apoptosis by flow cytometry, RNA extraction was performed and the expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, caspase 3 (C3), and caspase 9 (C9) were analyzed using newly designed primers by reverse transcription (RT) qPCR method and GeniX6 software. Also, specific antibodies were used for western blot analyses of those molecules. GC analysis revealed 42 different compounds in the ZEO, including pulegone (26.65%), menthone (5.74%), thymol (5.51%), and menthol (1.02%). MTT assay showed that the concentration of 200 μg/ml of ZEO had the highest HT-29 cell death during 24 hours. After incubation with the concentration of 50 μg/ml of ZEO for 24 and 48 hours, caspase 3 and 9 gene expressions in the treated group increased compared to those in the control group (P < 0.001), while the Bcl-2 expression decreased. The results showed that having anticancer compounds, ZEO can increase C3 and C9 and decrease Bcl-2 expressions, causing apoptosis in HT-29 cells in vitro. This can lead to the use of ZEO as a factor for colorectal cancer treatment.

Mentha pulegium L.: A Plant Underestimated for Its Toxicity to Be Recovered from the Perspective of the Circular Economy

The aim of the study was to investigate the micromorphology of Mentha pulegium leaves and flowers harvested in three different Sicilian (Italy) areas with peculiar pedo-climatic conditions, and to characterize the phytochemical profile, the phytotoxic activity, and the eco-compatibility of their essential oils (EOs) for potential use as safe bioherbicides. Light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) highlighted that M. pulegium indumentum consists of non-glandular and glandular trichomes of different types. Peltate trichomes of plants from the different sites showed few significant differences in dimension and abundance, but they were characterized by a surprisingly high number of secretory cells both in leaves and flowers. Phytochemical analyses showed that oxygenated monoterpenes were the most abundant class in all the EOs investigated (92.2-97.7%), but two different chemotypes, pulegone/isomenthone and piperitone/isomenthone, were found. The complex of morphological and phytochemical data indicates that soil salinity strongly affects the expression of the toxic metabolite pulegone, rather than the EO yield. Phytotoxicity tests showed a moderate activity of EOs against the selected species as confirmed by α-amylase assay. Moreover, the low toxicity on brine shrimp provided a rationale for the possible use of investigated EOs as eco-friendly herbicides.