Skin and colorectal cancers are among the most pressing global health concerns, highlighting the urgent need for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Plant-derived natural products, including essential oils, represent a promising reservoir of bioactive molecules with potential anticancer properties []. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic activity of Cedrus atlantica essential oil (CAEO) against three human cell lines: non-cancerous keratinocytes (HaCaT), malignant melanoma cells (A375), and colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (HT-29). The effects of water-dispersed CAEO (0.5% and 1%) and CAEO formulations (100 μg/mL and 200 μg/mL) with PEG-400 (CAEO-PEG) and Tween 20 (CAEO-Tw) on cell viability were evaluated using the Alamar Blue assay. The chemical composition of CAEO was analyzed through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that CAEO significantly reduced the viability of both A375 and HT-29 cancer cells by more than 50%, regardless of the formulation used. In contrast, the HaCaT cell line maintained over 85% viability, indicating no toxicity in non-cancerous cells. The most abundant components responsible for CAEO’s cytotoxic activity were identified as β-Himachalene (39.23%), 1H-benzocycloheptene,2,4a,5,6,7,8,9,9a-octahydro-3,5,5-trimethyl-9-methylene-,(4aS-cis) (16.76%), cis-(-)-2,4a,5,6,9a-Hexahydro-3,5,5,9-tetramethyl-(1H)-benzocycloheptene (12.92%), δ-Cadinene (2.54%) and several other minor components. These findings highlight the potential of CAEO as a selective anticancer agent, warranting further investigation to confirm its therapeutic value and to elucidate the underlying mechanism of action.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, O.-M.E., M.M. and C.Ș.; methodology, O.-M.E., M.M. and C.Ș.; software, O.-M.E. and M.M.; validation, O.-M.E. and M.M.; formal analysis, O.-M.E. and M.M.; investigation, O.-M.E. and M.M.; resources, O.-M.E.; data curation O.-M.E.; writing—original draft preparation, O.-M.E., M.M. and C.Ș.; writing-review and editing, O.-M.E., M.M. and C.Ș., visualization, O.-M.E. and M.M.; supervision, M.M. and C.Ș.; project administration, O.-M.E., M.M. and C.Ș.; funding acquisition, O.-M.E., M.M. and C.Ș. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the manuscript, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Reference
- Ribeiro Junior, H.L. The Therapeutic Potential of Essential Oils in Cancer Treatment: A Comprehensive Review. Braz. J. Aromather. Essent. Oil 2024, 1, bjhae14. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
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