Abstract
Plant-derived bioactive compounds attract considerable interest as potential chemopreventive anticancer agents. We analyzed the volatile dietary phytochemicals (terpenes) present in mastic oil extracted from the resin of Pistacia lentiscus var. chia and comparatively investigated their effects on colon carcinoma proliferation, a) in vitro against colon cancer cell lines and b) in vivo on tumor growth in mice following oral administration. Mastic oil inhibited - more effectively than its major constituents- proliferation of colon cancer cells in vitro, attenuated migration and downregulated transcriptional expression of survivin (BIRC5a). When administered orally, mastic oil inhibited the growth of colon carcinoma tumors in mice. A reduced expression of Ki-67 and survivin in tumor tissues accompanied the observed effects. Notably, only mastic oil -which is comprised of 67.7% α-pinene and 18.8% myrcene- induced a statistically significant anti-tumor effect in mice but not α-pinene, myrcene or a combination thereof. Thus, mastic oil, as a combination of terpenes, exerts growth inhibitory effects against colon carcinoma, suggesting a nutraceutical potential in the fight against colon cancer. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that orally administered mastic oil induces tumor-suppressing effects against experimental colon cancer.
Highlights
Plant-derived bioactive compounds attract nowadays considerable interest as potential chemopreventive anticancer agents
Mastic oil (MO) is the essential oil extracted from the resin of the plant Pistacia lentiscus var. chia, a plant that has been cultivated for its aromatic resin mostly in the southern part of Chios island in Greece
MO was extracted from the resin of the plant Pistacia lentiscus var. chia by distillation (Fig. 1)
Summary
Plant-derived bioactive compounds attract nowadays considerable interest as potential chemopreventive anticancer agents. Occurring compounds in plants, phytochemicals, have been under thorough investigation for the identification of potent anti-cancer agents with great success and, are considered the backbone of pharmaceutical innovation[2]. Certain bioactive dietary phytochemicals (e.g. curcumin) have been shown to contribute to colon cancer prevention or therapy[3, 4]. Essential oils from aromatic plants have been shown to possess diverse biological activities[7] and are a great source of dietary phytochemicals, being mixtures of biologically highly active compounds[8]. One of the main classes of chemical compositions found in essential oils are isoprenic derivatives, that include monoterpenes www.nature.com/scientificreports/. Terpenes (mono and sesquiterpenes) are the most prevalent constituents in essential oils. The monoterpene α-pinene exhibited antimetastatic effects when administered intraperitoneally in a mouse melanoma model[12] and suppressed hepatocellular carcinoma growth in a mouse xenograft model[13], while myrcene exhibited analgesic[14] and anti-inflammatory[15] activity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
