The Anticancer, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of the Sesquiterpene β-Caryophyllene from the Essential Oil of Aquilaria crassna

By S. Dahham, Y. Tabana, M. Iqbal, M. B. Ahamed, M. Ezzat, A. S. A. Majid, A. Majid. Molecules, 2015

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The present study reports a bioassay-guided isolation of β-caryophyllene from the essential oil of Aquilaria crassna. The structure of β-caryophyllene was confirmed using FT-IR, NMR and MS. The antimicrobial effect of β-caryophyllene was examined using human pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. Its anti-oxidant properties were evaluated by DPPH and FRAP scavenging assays. The cytotoxicity of β-caryophyllene was tested against seven human cancer cell lines. The corresponding selectivity index was determined by testing its cytotoxicity on normal cells. The effects of β-caryophyllene were studied on a series of in vitro antitumor-promoting assays using colon cancer cells. Results showed that β-caryophyllene demonstrated selective antibacterial activity against S. aureus (MIC 3 ± 1.0 µM) and more pronounced anti-fungal activity than kanamycin. β-Caryophyllene also displayed strong antioxidant effects. Additionally, β-caryophyllene exhibited selective anti-proliferative effects against colorectal cancer cells (IC50 19 µM). The results also showed that β-caryophyllene induces apoptosis via nuclear condensation and fragmentation pathways including disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. Further, β-caryophyllene demonstrated potent inhibition against clonogenicity, migration, invasion and spheroid formation in colon cancer cells. These results prompt us to state that β-caryophyllene is the active principle responsible for the selective anticancer and antimicrobial activities of A. crassnia. β-Caryophyllene has great potential to be further developed as a promising chemotherapeutic agent against colorectal malignancies.

Subfields: Food Science, Organic Chemistry, Pharmacology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b728f3580bc20687cb1af9a3128fcb6620f89bf3

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Citations in the corpus

• β‐caryophyllene and β‐caryophyllene oxide—natural compounds of anticancer and analgesic properties (2016, background): “[30] in HCT116 cells treated with BCP derived from the essential oil of A.”