Abstract
Background and Objectives: The effects of Ocimum tenuiflorum essential oil (OTEO) against gastric cancer remain unknown and merit investigation. Materials and Methods: In the present study, the anti-cancer activity of OTEO was examined in a human gastric cancer cell line (AGS). After OTEO treatment, AGS cell viability was determined by an MTT assay, and inhibition of metastasis was determined by cell migration and invasion assays. The expression of apoptosis-related genes in treated AGS cells was determined by qRT-PCR. Results: OTEO significantly decreased AGS cell viability in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 163.42 µg/mL) and effectively inhibited cell migration and invasion. Morphological examination demonstrated that OTEO induced cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation, and fragmentation, which are considered typical morphologies of apoptotic cell death. Pro-apoptotic genes (TP53, BAX, and BAK) were significantly up-regulated, while anti-apoptotic genes (BCL-2 and BCL-xL) were significantly down-regulated after treatment with OTEO. In addition, significantly increased gene expression was detected for CASP8, CASP9, and CASP3 in AGS cells exposed to OTEO. GC-MS analysis demonstrated that the major compound of OTEO was caryophyllene (25.85%) and α-pinene (11.66%). Conclusions: This in vitro study demonstrates for the first time that OTEO has potential anti-gastric cancer activity and may induce apoptosis in AGS cells through extrinsic and intrinsic pathways.
Highlights
Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and was the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortalities in 2020 [1]
The investigation of agents derived from medicinal plants that exhibit effective anti-cancer activity which are inexpensive and are safe or have minimal side effects represents an interesting option that may lead to further improvement of gastric cancer treatment regimens
The effect of Ocimum tenuiflorum essential oil (OTEO) on a human gastric cancer cell line (AGS) cell viability was determined by an MTT assay (Figure 1)
Summary
Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and was the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortalities in 2020 [1]. The incidence of gastric cancer has wide geographical variations, but it is the major cancer in East Asian countries such as Japan, China, and Korea [2,3]. The most effective regimens for advanced-stage treatment of this cancer involve epirubicin, cisplatin, or 5-fluorouracil [6]. Undesirable adverse effects have been documented in gastric cancer patients treated with cisplatin or 5-fluorouracil including nausea, vomiting, and hematologic toxicity. These may affect patients’ quality of life [7]. The investigation of agents derived from medicinal plants that exhibit effective anti-cancer activity which are inexpensive and are safe or have minimal side effects represents an interesting option that may lead to further improvement of gastric cancer treatment regimens
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