<b><i>Daucus carota</i></b> Pentane/Diethyl Ether Fraction Inhibits Motility and Reduces Invasion of Cancer Cells

Abstract

Daucus carota (DC) is a herb used in folklore medicine in Lebanon to treat numerous diseases including cancer. Recent studies in our laboratory on DC oil and its fractions revealed potent anticancer activities in vitro and in vivo. The present study aims to investigate the effect of the most potent DC fraction, pentane/diethyl ether (50:50), on lung, skin, breast and glioblastoma cancer cell motility and invasion. Upon treatment, a pronounced decrease in cancer cell motility was observed in the 4 cell lines. The treatment also led to a decrease in cancer cell invasion and an increased cell adhesion. Additionally, the DC fraction caused a decrease in the activation of the ρ-GTPases Rac and CDC42, a finding that may partially explain the treatment-induced decrease in cell motility. The current study demonstrates a crucial effect of the DC pentane/diethyl ether fraction on cancer cell motility and metastasis, making it a potential candidate for cancer therapy specifically targeting cancer motility and metastasis.

Wild carrot pentane-based fractions suppress proliferation of human HaCaT keratinocytes and protect against chemically-induced skin cancer

“…It also exhibited potent cytotoxicity against colon (Caco-2, HT-29), breast (MCF-7, MDA-MB-23) [11] and human acute myeloid leukemia cells [13], as well as significant anti-tumor promoting effect against DMBA/TPA skin carcinogenesis in mice [4]. Recently, DCOE was subjected to chromatographic separation and fractions were shown to possess antioxidant, hepatoprotective [14] as well as anticancer activity in vitro [14, 15]. The pentane/diethyl ether fraction (F2) containing a major compound identified as 2-himachalen-6-ol (61.4%), was found to suppress proliferation of HT-29 cells by inducing apoptosis [14].…”

“…The pentane/diethyl ether fraction (F2) containing a major compound identified as 2-himachalen-6-ol (61.4%), was found to suppress proliferation of HT-29 cells by inducing apoptosis [14]. It also inhibited motility of MDA-MB231 and SF-268 cells and reduced invasion of B16F-10 cells [15]. …”

Nutritional and therapeutic importance of Daucus carota- A review

“…The treatment also led to a decrease in cancer cell invasion and an increased cell adhesion. Additionally, the Daucus carota fraction decreased the activation of the ρ-GTPases Rac and CDC42, a finding which may partially explain the decrease in cell motility [100]. The cytotoxic effect of Daucus carota oil extract (DCOE) was studied in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells.…”

β-2-himachalen-6-ol: A novel anticancer sesquiterpene unique to the Lebanese wild carrot

“…Fractions F1 (pentane) and F2 (pentane:ether) demonstrated the highest anticancer activity with IC 50 values ranging between 7 and 25 μg/ml (Shebaby et al, 2014;Shebaby et al, 2015a). The F2 fraction was also found to inhibit motility and reduce invasion of cancer cells (Zgheib et al, 2014). Chemical characterization has shown that the major compound (MC) in DCOE (32%) (Shebaby et al, 2013), previously reported as 2-himachalen-6-ol (based on NIST11/Wiley9 Mass-Spectral Database), constitutes 61% of the F2 fraction (Shebaby et al, 2015a).…”