Abstract
Arnica montana L. is a medicinal plant with diverse biological activities commonly used in pharmacy and cosmetics. The attributes of A. montana are mainly related to the concentration and chemical composition of essential oils (EOs). Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the chemical composition of EOs derived from A. montana rhizomes and roots taking into account the age of the plants and to investigate the effect of the analyzed EOs on induction of apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy in human glioblastoma multiforme T98G and anaplastic astrocytoma MOGGCCM cell lines. Rhizomes and roots of mountain arnica were harvested at the end of the third and fourth vegetation periods. The chemical composition of essential oils was determined with the GC–MS technique. Among the 37 components of the essential oil of A. montana, 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (46.47%–60.31%), 2,6-diisopropylanisole (14.48%–23.10%), thymol methyl ether (5.31%–17.79%), p-methoxyheptanophenone (5.07%–9.65%), and α-isocomene (0.68%–2.87%), were detected in the rhizomes and roots of the three-year-old plants and in the rhizomes and roots of the four-year-old plants. The plant part (rhizome, root) and plant age can be determinants of the essential oil composition and, consequently, their biological activity. The induction of apoptosis (but not autophagy nor necrosis) at a level of 28.5%–32.3% is a promising result, for which 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene, 2,6-diisopropylanisole, thymol methyl ether, and p-methoxyheptanophenone are probably mainly responsible. The present study is the first report on the anticancer activities of essential oils from A. montana rhizomes and roots.
Highlights
Natural products and their derivatives are increasingly desirable sources of novel therapeutic molecules worldwide [1]
This family is represented by mountain Arnica montana L., i.e., an herbaceous plant species which has been used in folk medicine for many years and is a rich source of raw material abundant in secondary metabolites
The objective of this study was: (i) to characterize the chemical composition of essential oils (EOs) derived from A. montana rhizomes and roots taking into account the age of the plants, and (ii) to investigate the effect of the analyzed EOs on induction of apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy in human glioblastoma multiforme T98G and anaplastic astrocytoma MOGGCCM
Summary
Natural products and their derivatives are increasingly desirable sources of novel therapeutic molecules worldwide [1]. Many Asteraceae plant species have a long history of ethnopharmacological use and are important for medicinal and pharmacological purposes at present [6,7,8,9,10] This family is represented by mountain Arnica montana L., i.e., an herbaceous plant species which has been used in folk medicine for many years and is a rich source of raw material abundant in secondary metabolites. It has a number of different applications, e.g., it is widely used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries [11]. The age of plants tested in this study is one of the agents that modify the yield and chemical composition of EOs in medicinal plants [10,17,25]
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