Anticancer and antibacterial effects of a clove bud essential oil-based nanoscale emulsion system
Authors
M Nirmala
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai
600036, Tamil Nadu, India
Latha Durai
Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai
600036, Tamil Nadu, India
Vineet Gopakumar
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai
600036, Tamil Nadu, India
R Nagarajan
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai
600036, Tamil Nadu, India
Background and purpose
The essential oil derived from clove buds (Syzygium aromaticum) has been used as a chemopreventive agent in Ayurvedic medicine. The antiviral, antibacterial, and anticancer properties of its chemo-skeleton have motivated this study to explore its efficacy in pharmaceutics.
Methods
Nanoscale-based emulsions were prepared by employing a spontaneous emulsification technique through self-assembly using varying concentrations of Tween 20 and Tween 80 surfactants. Their physicochemical properties and stability were studied in order to choose an optimum formulation which was clear and stable. The cytotoxicity of the stable oil-based emulsion system was evaluated using MTT assay, colony formation assay, and Annexin V-FITC assay against the thyroid cancer cell line (HTh-7).
Results
All three methods verified apoptosis and reduction in cancer cell proliferation, making the formulation a promising candidate as an alternative cancer drug. The oil-based emulsion system was also tested for its antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus. Membrane permeability studies proved its efficacy to permeate through cell membrane, thereby increasing the leakage of cytoplasmic contents.
Conclusion
Many current treatments for cancers are aggressive yet ineffective. This study positions the clove bud-based nanoscale emulsion as a suitable candidate for further in vivo studies and trials as a cancer drug.
Keywords: clove bud oil, nanoscale emulsion system, thyroid cancer, apoptosis, antibacterial activity
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