Essential Oils (EOs) are used in many products to be intended for human utilization. Despite their pharmacological applications in the folk and traditional medicine, studies on EO anti-proliferative properties are still limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-proliferative properties of hydrodistilled EO from 16 aromatic plants grown in Yemen. The cytotoxicity of the EOs was determined against seven cell lines namely; HeLa, MCF7, MDA-MB 231, CEMss, WEHI-3B, 3T3 and CHO cell lines using the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT) assay. Lantana camara EO was the most cytotoxic extract against all tested cell lines with an IC50 value of ≤ 0.01 % (v/v), except the non-tumorous cell lines CHO with IC50 value of 0.025 % ± 0.005 % v/v. While Cinnamomum zeylanicum EO showed high cytotoxic activity against HeLa, MDA-MB 231, 3T3 and CHO cell lines with IC50 value of ≤ 0.010 % (v/v). EO from Ocimum basilicum and Mentha piperita were among the ones with no activity or IC50 value of > 0. 010 % (v/v). The results demonstrated the potential of the EO from aromatic plants from Yemen for possible source of cancer treatment. type apparatus. The oil layer was collected, however, in some cases the distillate aqueous layers were washed with ether to extract any dissolved oils in water. Then, the ether was separated by separatory funnel and evaporated on water bath at 40 °C and the residue EO was added to the first collected portion. The EO was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and the yield was calculated.
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Cell cultures and maintenanceHuman cervical cancer cells (HeLa), human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7), human mammary cancer cell lines-estrogen negative (MDA-MB-231), human colon carcinoma cell lines (HT-29), mouse fibroblast cell lines (3T3) and murine monomyelocytic leukemia cell lines (WEHI-3) were obtained from ATTC. While Chinese hamster ovary cell line (CHO) from ECACC and T4-lymphoplastoid cell lines (CEMss) from NIH (AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program, Division of AIDS, NIAID, NIH: USA). Cell lines were grown in RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, 1% penicillin-streptomycin and 1% amphotericin B. Flasks containing cell lines were incubated in a humidified incubator with 5% CO 2 , at 37 °C. Cultures were frequently examined under inverted microscope (Micros, Austria). Once cells reached 80% confluency, media was removed and the cells were washed 3 times with 7mL of PBS (Phosphate Buffer Saline). Two milliliters of trypsin was added to the adherent cells and were incubated for 5 minutes. The flask was tapped gently to detach cells from the wall of the flask to appear as single cells. Ten milliliters of RPMI 1640 with 10% FCS were added to the flask and the content of the flask was resuspended to allow cells to disperse. About 6mL of cell suspension was transferred into a 75cm3 flask. Ten milliliters of RPMI 1640 with 10% FCS were then added and incubated in CO 2 incubator at 37 °C. The cells were frequently examined under an inverted microsco...