Preprint / Version 1

Seseli tortuosum L. subsp. tortuosum Essential Oils and Their Principal Constituents as Anticancer Agents

Authors

  • Alessandro Vaglica Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (A.V.); [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (N.B.)
  • Antonella Maggio Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (A.V.); [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (N.B.)
  • Natale Badalamenti Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (A.V.); [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (N.B.)
  • Maurizio Bruno Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (A.V.); [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (N.B.)
  • Marianna Lauricella Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (BIND), Institute of Biochemistry, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy; [email protected]
  • Chiara Occhipinti Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (C.O.); [email protected] (A.D.)
  • Antonella D’Anneo Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (C.O.); [email protected] (A.D.)

Keywords:

apiaceae, p-cymene, β-ocimene, colon cancer cells, GC-MS, Seseli tortuosum L. subsp. tortuosum

Abstract

Seseli tortuosum L. subsp. tortuosum, belonging to the Apiaceae family, is a species that grows in Europe, mainly in the Mediterranean regions. The history of its application in traditional medicine highlights its various biological properties. Trying to explore the phytochemistry and pharmacological aspects of this species, the essential oils (EOs) extracted from flowers, stems, and roots of a locally wild accession, never previously investigated, growing in Sicily, Italy, were investigated. The chemical composition of all EOs, obtained by the hydrodistillation method, was evaluated by GC-MS. The most abundant class of all investigated samples was that of monoterpene hydrocarbons (79.98–91.21%) with p-cymene, α-pinene, β-pinene, and β-ocimene as major compounds. These EOs, and their main components, were tested for their possible anticancer activity. Obtained data provided evidence that among the different EOs tested, at the dose of 100 μg/mL, those extracted from stems and roots were particularly effective, already at 24 h of treatment, in reducing the cell viability of 42% and 95%, respectively, in HCT116 colon cancer cell line. These EOs also exerted a remarkable cytotoxic effect that was accompanied by morphological changes represented by cell shrinkage as well as a reduction in residual cell population. Differently, modest effects were found when EOs extracted from flowers were tested in the same experimental conditions. The evaluation of the phytocompounds mainly represented in the EOs extracted from different parts of the plant and tested in a range of concentrations between 20 and 200 μg/mL, revealed that α-pinene, β-pinene, and p-cymene exerted only modest effects on cell viability. Differently, a remarkable effect was found when β-ocimene, the most abundant phytocomponent in EOs from roots, was tested on colon cancer cells. This phytocompound, among those identified in EOs from Seseli tortuosum L. subsp. tortuosum, was found to be the most effective in reducing colon cancer cell viability with IC50 = 64.52 μg/mL at 24 h of treatment. All together, these data suggest that β-ocimene could be responsible for the effects observed in colon cancer cells. Keywords: apiaceae, p-cymene, β-ocimene, colon cancer cells, GC-MS, Seseli tortuosum L. subsp. tortuosum

Author Biographies

Alessandro Vaglica, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (A.V.); [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (N.B.)

Methodology, Software, Validation, Investigation, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Antonella Maggio, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (A.V.); [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (N.B.)

Resources, Data curation, Visualization, Supervision

Natale Badalamenti, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (A.V.); [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (N.B.)

Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Maurizio Bruno, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (A.V.); [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (N.B.)

Conceptualization, Validation, Resources, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Supervision

Marianna Lauricella, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (BIND), Institute of Biochemistry, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy; [email protected]

Methodology, Validation, Writing – review & editing

Chiara Occhipinti, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (C.O.); [email protected] (A.D.)

Methodology

Antonella D’Anneo, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] (C.O.); [email protected] (A.D.)

Software, Writing – review & editing, Supervision

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