Apoptotic effects of thymol, a novel monoterpene phenol, on different types of cancer

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a major public health problem in many areas of the world. Many anticancer drugs in current clinical use have been isolated from plant species or are based on such substances. Thymol (5-methyl-2-isopropylphenol) is an oxygenated aromatic compound from monoterpene group. It is the main constituent of thyme essential oil and shows antioxidant, antiseptic and antiproliferative properties. The aim of this study is to determine the antiproliferative activity and apoptotic effect of thymol on prostate cancer (PC-3, DU145), breast cancer (MDA-MB-231), and lung cancer (KLN205) cell lines. METHODS: The cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of thymol (100, 200, 400, 600, 800 μM) at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. The cell viability was investigated by MTT assay and analysis of apoptosis was determined with annexin V assay. RESULTS: The study showed the dose and time-dependent cytotoxic effect of thymol in PC-3, DU145, MDA-MB-231, and KLN205 cancer cell lines. Thymol signifi cantly induced apoptosis in all groups in a dosedependent manner. Statistical analysis showed a signifi cant difference between thymol-treated cell lines compared to the control (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The data in the present study demonstrated that thymol has apoptotic and antiproliferative properties in lung, breast and prostate cancer cell lines. Thymol could serve as a potential therapeutic agent in the future (Fig. 5, Ref. 26).

Thymol and Thyme Essential Oil—New Insights into Selected Therapeutic Applications

“…Thymol exerts an anti-tumor effect through various mechanisms such as inhibition of cell growth (antiproliferative activity), induction of apoptosis, production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), depolarization of mitochondrial membrane, activation of Bax proapoptotic mitochondrial proteins, and interaction with caspase or poly-ADP ribose polymerase [ 74 ]. Elbe and co-workers [ 75 ] studied the antiproliferative and proapoptotic properties of thymol on non-small-cell lung carcinoma, highly metastatic breast adenocarcinoma, and prostate cancer cell lines. Thymol showed cytotoxic effects on the above-mentioned tumor types in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner.…”

Bioassay-Guided Isolation of Antiproliferative Compounds from Limbarda crithmoides (L.) Dumort

“…Most of the Inula metabolites tested were sesquiterpenolides. On the other hand, thymol and thymol derivatives as well as extracts and essential oils containing these compounds [61][62][63][64] are known to be cytotoxic. These results suggest that the H extract induced a significant activation of a p21-dependent, p53-independent pathway in OCI-AML3 cells and that compound 2 was responsible of this activity and the associated cell cycle arrest.…”

“…Most of the Inula metabolites tested were sesquiterpenolides. On the other hand, thymol and thymol derivatives as well as extracts and essential oils containing these compounds [61][62][63][64] are known to be cytotoxic.…”

New perspectives of quercetin and vitamin C effects on fibronectin-binding integrins and chemokine receptors in prostate cancer cell lines

“…The effect of natural sources driven compounds such as fl avonoids and polyphenols in the prevention and treatment of cancers is investigated in some studies. There is a negative correlation between cancer prevalence and fl avonoids rich diet (12,13). Quercetin is the most abundant dietary fl avonoid found in fruits and vegetables.…”