Chamazulene-Rich Artemisia arborescens Essential Oils Affect the Cell Growth of Human Melanoma Cells.

Alessandra Russo,Maurizio Bruno,Venera Cardile,Daniela Rigano,Rosanna Avola

doi:10.3390/plants9081000

Abstract

Artemisia arborescens is an aromatic shrub whose essential oils are considered a potential source of molecules with industrial and pharmaceutical interest. The chemical profile of A. arborescens essential oils (EOs) was shown to be quite variable and various chemotypes have been identified. In this study, we compared the EOs composition of A. arborescens leaves and flowers collected from four different locations in Sicily. The EOs were assayed for their antiproliferative activity against A375 human malignant melanoma cells, also testing cell viability and cell membrane integrity. The evaluation of DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 activity assay was employed for the detection of apoptosis. The expression of Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved caspase-9, PTEN (Phosphatase and tensin homolog), Hsp70 (Heat Shock Protein 70 kilodaltons) and SOD (superoxide dismutase) proteins was evaluated by Western blot analysis. The levels of ROS and GSH were also analyzed. Results show that EOs presented significant differences in their composition, yield, and cytotoxic activity depending on the collection site. The chamazulene/camphor-rich EOs from plants collected in Acqua Calda (Lipari) resulted particularly active on melanoma cancer cells (IC50 values of 6.7 and 4.5 µg/mL), being able to trigger apoptotic death probably interfering with endogenous defense mechanisms. These oils may be considered as a natural resource of chamazulene, containing this compound up to 63%.

Highlights

Artemisia L. (Artemisiinae-Anthemideae-Compositae) comprises more than 500, mostly perennial species [1] and it is considered the largest genus of the tribe Anthemideae
The chamazulene/camphor-rich essential oils (EOs) from plants collected in Acqua Calda (Lipari) resulted active on melanoma cancer cells (IC50 values of 6.7 and 4.5 μg/mL), being able to trigger apoptotic death probably interfering with endogenous defense mechanisms
We demonstrated that all essential oils selectively affected the survival of human melanoma cancer cells (Table 3).These results are in accordance with previous literature data which show an interesting cytotoxic activity of A. arborescens essential oil against the human cell lines T98G

Summary

Introduction

Artemisia L. (Artemisiinae-Anthemideae-Compositae) comprises more than 500, mostly perennial species [1] and it is considered the largest genus of the tribe Anthemideae. (Artemisiinae-Anthemideae-Compositae) comprises more than 500, mostly perennial species [1] and it is considered the largest genus of the tribe Anthemideae. It is a cosmopolitan genus containing wind-pollinated plants with huge ecological plasticity, occurring from high mountains to sea level and from wetlands to arid zones. In Italy, about 20 species are reported and only five are present in Sicilian flora [2] Besides their several therapeutic applications, Artemisia spp. are used in the preparation of bitter liqueurs (e.g., vermouth), as perfume ingredients and flavoring agents in food, so representing a big potential for industrial and therapeutic use [3]. A significant intraspecific variability regarding EOs composition has been observed among Artemisia taxa; this variability is widely influenced by the geographic region, harvesting season, plant part, growing site, drying conditions, extraction method, but mostly by genotype [4]

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