Abstract
Mint [Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson] is an aromatic plant that belongs to Lamiaceae family. It is traditionally used as herbal tea in Europe, Australia and North Africa and shows numerous pharmacological effects, such as spasmolytic, antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-hemolytic. Recently, its antiproliferative role has been suggested in a small number of tumor cell models, but no data are available on adrenocortical carcinoma, a malignancy with a survival rate at 5 years of 20%–30% which frequently metastasize. This work aimed to study the effects of Mentha longifolia L. crude extract (ME) on two adrenocortical tumor cell models (H295R and SW13 cells). Chemical composition of ME was assessed by gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy analysis. Brine shrimp lethality assay showed ME effects at >0.5 µg/µl (p < 0.05). Cell viability and vitality were determined by MTT, SRB, and trypan blue assays in H295R and SW13 cells. The anti-proliferative effects of ME were more evident in SW13 cells at 72 h (ME > 0.5 µg/µl, p < 0.05). Combination of ME with mitotane (approved drug for adrenocortical carcinoma) seemed not to reinforce the efficacy of the herb. As control, human fibroblasts were treated with ME with no effect on cell viability. Clonogenic assay was concordant with previous cell viability tests (ME > 0.5 µg/µl, p < 0.05), while Wright staining demonstrated the presence of both necrotic and apoptotic cells. Cell cycle analysis showed a strong increase in subG0/G1 phase, related to cell death. Furthermore, MAPK and PI3k/Akt pathways were modulated by Western blot analysis when treating cells with ME alone or combined with mitotane. The crude methanolic extract of wild mountain mint can decrease cell viability, vitality and survival of adrenocortical tumor cell models, in particular of SW13 cells. These data show the potential anticancer effects of ME, still more work is needed to corroborate these findings.
Highlights
Mint [Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson] is a common aromatic herb found in the Mediterranean Region
We performed SRB assay to test cytotoxic activity of mint crude extract (ME) and we showed a reduction in total cell proteins similar to MTT results, with a reduction of SW13 cells proteins at 72 h (ME > 0.5 μg/μl, p < 0.05) (Supplementary Figure 1)
This research work analyzed for the first time a mint extract (M. longifolia) on adrenocortical tumor cell lines
Summary
Mint [Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson] is a common aromatic herb found in the Mediterranean Region. It belongs to the Lamiaceae family and it is a wild perennial plant that can live at more than 1000m above the sea level. M. longifolia L. used as methanolic/ ethanolic/aqueous extracts or essential oils was investigated in different tumor cell models, demonstrating a strong cytotoxic activity (Hussain et al, 2010; Al-Ali et al, 2013; Eissa et al, 2014; Sharma et al, 2014; Asemani et al, 2019). This work analyzed for the first time the effects of a crude methanolic extract of wild mountain mint (M. longifolia) for its anticancer potential in SW13 and H295R cells
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