Insight into Analysis of Essential Oil from Anisosciadium lanatum Boiss.—Chemical Composition, Molecular Docking, and Mitigation of Hepg2 Cancer Cells through Apoptotic Markers

Abstract

Essential oils have been used in various traditional healing systems since ancient times worldwide, due to their diverse biological activities. Several studies have demonstrated their plethora of biological activities—including anti-cancer activity—in a number of cell lines. Anisosciadium lanatum Boiss. is a perennial aromatic herb. Traditionally, it is an edible safe herb with few studies exploring its importance. The current study aims to investigate the chemical composition of essential oil isolated from Anisosciadium lanatum using GC-MS, as well as report its anti-cancer potential and its mechanistic effect on HepG2 liver cancer cell lines, and conduct molecular docking studies. To achieve this, the essential oil was isolated using a Clevenger apparatus and analyzed using GC-MS. The cell viability of HepG2 liver cancer and normal fibroblast NIH-3T3 cell lines was assessed by MTT cytotoxicity assay. The effects of the essential oil on cell migration and invasion were assessed using wound healing and matrigel assays, respectively. The effect of the essential oil on migration and apoptotic-regulating mRNA and proteins was quantified using quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot techniques, respectively. Finally, computational docking tools were used to analyze in silico binding of major constituents from the essential oil against apoptotic and migration markers. A total of 38 components were identified and quantified. The essential oil demonstrated regulation of cell proliferation and cell viability in HepG2 liver cancer cells at a sub-lethal dose of 10 to 25 μg/mL, and expressed reductions of migration and invasion. The treatment with essential oil indicated mitigation of cancer activity by aborting the mRNA of pro-apoptotic markers such as BCL-2, CASPASE-3, CYP-1A1, and NFκB. The algorithm-based binding studies demonstrated that eucalyptol, nerol, camphor, and linalool have potent binding towards the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2. On the other hand, camphor and eucalyptol showed potent binding towards the pro-apoptotic protein CASPASE-3. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the essential oil isolated from Anisosciadium lanatum to drive alleviation of HepG2 cancer cell progression by modulating apoptotic markers. Our findings suggest that Anisosciadium lanatum could be used as a phytotherapeutic anti-cancer agent, acting through the regulation of apoptotic markers. More well-designed in vivo trials are needed in order to verify the obtained results.

Plant Essential Oil with Biological Activity

“…Another study conducted by Shahin et al [ 12 ] reported that the flowers’ EO extracted from Aerva javanica , isolated during four seasons, is considered a good source of natural bioactive antioxidants. Khalil et al [ 13 ] studied the chemical composition of EO isolated from Anisosciadium lanatum and evaluated its anti-cancer potential and mechanistic effect on HepG2 liver cancer cell lines. The obtained results showed that the studied EO was able to regulate the cell proliferation and cell viability in HepG2 liver cancer cells at a sub-lethal dose of 10 to 25 g/mL and displayed reductions in migration and invasion [ 13 ].…”

“…Khalil et al [ 13 ] studied the chemical composition of EO isolated from Anisosciadium lanatum and evaluated its anti-cancer potential and mechanistic effect on HepG2 liver cancer cell lines. The obtained results showed that the studied EO was able to regulate the cell proliferation and cell viability in HepG2 liver cancer cells at a sub-lethal dose of 10 to 25 g/mL and displayed reductions in migration and invasion [ 13 ]. In addition, the treatment with A. lanatum EO indicated the mitigation of cancer activity by aborting the mRNA of pro-apoptotic markers such as BCL-2,CASPASE-3, CYP-1A1, and NF k B [ 13 ].…”

Mechanistic Insights into the Ameliorative Effect of Cichoriin on Diabetic Rats—Assisted with an In Silico Approach

“…The crystal structures of the mice AMPK (PDBID: 5ufu), PI3K (PDB ID: 7r2b) and GULT4 (PDBID: 7wsn) were retrieved from the Protein Data Bank ( ) (accessed on 10 August 2022). Docked ligand–receptor interactions were visualized and analyzed using Discovery Studio 2021 Client trial version, as described earlier by Khalil et al [ 57 ].…”

Orientin Alleviates Liver Inflammation via Downregulation of ZEB-2/PTEN Markers—Hepatic Stellate Cells Approach

“…The lysates of cultured cells were prepared using RIPA lysis buffer, then separated on an SDS-PAGE gel and transferred to a PVDF membrane. Western blot assays were performed with the aid of specified primary antibodies: ZEB-2 (mouse monoclonal antibody 1:1500) (Invitrogen, Waltham, MA, USA), PTEN (rabbit polyclonal antibody 1:1000) (Invitrogen, Waltham, MA, USA), iNOS (rabbit polyclonal antibody 1:1000) (Biorbyt, Cambridge, UK), β-actin (rabbit polyclonal antibody 1:2000) (Cell Signaling Technology, Beverly, MA, USA) and its HRP-labeled secondary antibodies [33], followed by detection with an enhanced chemiluminescence reagent. Chemiluminescence of expressed bands were examined to confirm the linear range of the chemiluminescence signals, and the quantifications were performed using the densitometry tool in ImageJ software v1.8.…”