Differentiation-inducing effect in human colon cancer cells of essential oils

Abstract

© 2017. Essential oils are naturally occurring, volatile aromatic compounds. Many essential oils are suitable for use as flavoring agents and are safe for human consumption. In this study, the effects of essential oils on colon cancer cell differentiation were evaluated. Essential oils regularly used as food ingredients were selected for investigation. These included betel vine oil, citronella oil, clove oil, clove leaf oil, galangal oil, guava leaf oil, hairy basil oil, holy basil oil, kaffir lime oil, lemongrass oil, lesser galangal oil, lime oil, sweet basil oil, and turmeric oil. Human rectum adenocarcinoma cells (RCM-1) was a study model for cell differentiating induction. The result showed that most essential oils were able to induce call differentiation except lemongrass oil and lime oil which showed lower fractions of duct formation index (FFI) than 3-methylthiopropionic acid ethyl ester (MTPE), the positive control from Japanese pickling melon. Hairy basil oil, holy basil oil, and guava leaf oil were highly effective in inducing cell differentiation effect with FFIQ 4.71 ± 0.20, 4.03 ± 0.26, and 3.81 ± 1.05, respectively. The effect of inducing differentiation was interpreted by compared with the FFI of MTPE. Our finding indicated no dose dependent manner in this study. Interestingly high concentration of some essential oils exhibited cytotoxicity on colon cancer cells. The results of this study can be used as preliminary data for further study on novel chemoprevetative agents, with less adverse effects.