Artemisia vulgaris essential oil nanoemulsions (AVEO-NE), a novel anti-angiogenic agent and safe apoptosis inducer in MCF-7 human cancer cells

Abstract

Artemisia vulgaris essential oil (AVEO) is known as a therapeutic agent. Several types of investigation have demonstrated its cytotoxic impact on human cancer cells. In the current study, AVEO nanoemulsion (AVEO-NE) was synthesized using an ultrasound-based emulsification method and its cytotoxic, apoptotic, antioxidant, and anti-angiogenic properties were evaluated for the MCF-7 cancer cell line by measuring the cell’s gene expression profile and performing MTT. Finally, the anti-angiogenic activity of AVEO-NE was verified by applying CAM assay analysis. The results showed that AVEO-NE exhibited significant cell-selective cytotoxic, apoptotic, and antioxidant activities by up-regulating Cas-9, CAT, and SOD gene expression. Moreover, the AVEO-NE meaningfully suppressed angiogenesis in MCF-7 cancer cells by down-regulating VEGF gene expression. Finally, the decreased number and length of chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) blood vessels verified AVEO-NE’s anti-angiogenic activity. Therefore, AVEO-NE can potentially be employed as a safe cell-dependent anti-breast cancer drug delivery system.

Keywords:

• Artemisia vulgaris essential oil (AVEO)
• nanoemulsions
• apoptotic activity
• cell-selective cytotoxic
• anti-breast cancer
• anti-angiogenic

Acknowledgments

The authors very much appreciate the support provided by the Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran, in the conducting of the present research.

Disclosure statement

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.