Scrophularıa oxysepala inhibit oral cancer cell line OECM-1 through induction of apoptosis

Abstract

Oral cancer is a deadly malignancy that indicated high resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Natural compounds derived from herbal medicine are many popular, and commonly used for treatment of several human disorders and malignancies in the world. In this study we aimed to investigate the anticancer activity of Scrophularıa oxysepala essential oil on oral cancer cell line OECM-1 and underlying mechanisms. The essential oil of S. oxysepala prepared by Clevenger instrument from dried leaves of plant. Cytotoxic effects of S. oxysepala essential oil was investigated by Tetrazolium staining on OECM-1 oral cancer cells. Moreover, the effects of S. oxysepala essential oil was investigated on apoptosis rate in cancer cells. The apoptosis-related genes (BAX, BCL2, SMAC, SURVIVIN) expression in treated cancer cells were evaluated by quantitative Real-Time PCR method. Our results indicated a significant cytotoxic effect of S. oxysepala essential oil against oral cancer cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. We observed several morphological changes in treated oral cancer cells by S. oxysepala essential oil that indicate cancer cell death and apoptosis. In addition, S. oxysepala essential oil induced apoptosis rate in treated cancer cells through regulation of BAX, BCL2, SMAC, and SURVIVIN genes expression. In general, our study demonstrated a significant cytotoxic effects of S. oxysepala essential oil against oral cancer cells, which may be due to induction of apoptosis through regulation of apoptosis-related genes expression.