Chamomile Essential Oil: Chemical Constituents and Antitumor Activity in MDA‐MB‐231 Cells through PI3K/Akt/mTOR Signaling Pathway

Abstract

Chamomile essential oil (CEO) is extracted from chamomile and mainly used in aromatherapy. The chemical constituents and its antitumor activity on Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) was explored in the present study. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was employed to analyze the chemical constituents of CEO. The cell viability, migration and invasion of TNBC cell MDA-MB-231 were measured using MTT, wound scratch and Transwell assay, respectively. The protein expression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway was determined by Western blot. CEO is rich in terpenoids (63.51 %), among which the identified terpenoids and their derivatives are mainly Caryophyllene (29.57 %), d-Cadinene (12.81 %), Caryophyllene oxide (14.51 %), etc. Three concentration of CEO (1, 1.5, 2 μg/mL) significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells with a dose dependent manner. Moreover, the phosphorylation of PI3K, Akt and mTOR was inhibited by CEO. The results revealed that there was abundant terpenoids in the CEO which account for 63.51 %. CEO significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells, exhibiting antitumor effect on TNBC. The antitumor effect of CEO might attribute to its inhibition on PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. However, further study should be conducted in more TNBC cell lines and animal models to provide further evidence for TNBC treatment by CEO.

Essential oils and their nanoformulations for breast cancer therapy

“…Furthermore, a recent study showed that chamomile EO derived from Matricaria recutita L. effectively inhibited the growth, migration, and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells, even at concentrations as low as 1-2 μg/mL. Notably, this EO inhibited the phosphorylation of PI3K, Akt, and mTOR, and blocked the activation of the PI3K/Akt/ mTOR signaling axis to exert these anticancer effects (An et al, 2023). proportion of splenic T helper (CD3 + , CD4 + ) and T cytotoxic (CD3 + , CD8 + ) cells, resulting in cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and inhibition of tumor growth in in vivo (Morsi et al, 2022).…”

Chitosan-Based Nanoencapsulated Essential Oils: Potential Leads against Breast Cancer Cells in Preclinical Studies

“…In addition, chamomile EOs reduced the migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. Based on these findings, it was suggested that the cytotoxic effects of chamomile EOs were due to the inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway in MDA-MB-231 cells [ 53 ]. Overall, the demonstrated biological activity might be primarily attributed to the volatile constituents present in the EOs.…”

Chemical Composition, In Vitro Antitumor Effect, and Toxicity in Zebrafish of the Essential Oil from Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist (Asteraceae)

“…Natural products or their derivatives represent more than 60% of the molecules used for cancer treatment [6]. In this context, essential oils (EOs) have been widely investigated for their pharmacological effects, including antimicrobial [7,8], anti-inflammatory [9], and antitumor effects [10][11][12][13][14][15]. EOs are aromatic oily liquids obtained from many parts of plants such as flowers, seeds, leaves, twigs, and roots.…”