Anticancer and antibacterial effects of a clove bud essential oil-based nanoscale emulsion system

Abstract

Background and purpose

The essential oil derived from clove buds (Syzygium aromaticum) has been used as a chemopreventive agent in Ayurvedic medicine. The antiviral, antibacterial, and anticancer properties of its chemo-skeleton have motivated this study to explore its efficacy in pharmaceutics.

Methods

Nanoscale-based emulsions were prepared by employing a spontaneous emulsification technique through self-assembly using varying concentrations of Tween 20 and Tween 80 surfactants. Their physicochemical properties and stability were studied in order to choose an optimum formulation which was clear and stable. The cytotoxicity of the stable oil-based emulsion system was evaluated using MTT assay, colony formation assay, and Annexin V-FITC assay against the thyroid cancer cell line (HTh-7).

Results

All three methods verified apoptosis and reduction in cancer cell proliferation, making the formulation a promising candidate as an alternative cancer drug. The oil-based emulsion system was also tested for its antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus. Membrane permeability studies proved its efficacy to permeate through cell membrane, thereby increasing the leakage of cytoplasmic contents.

Conclusion

Many current treatments for cancers are aggressive yet ineffective. This study positions the clove bud-based nanoscale emulsion as a suitable candidate for further in vivo studies and trials as a cancer drug.

Keywords:

• clove bud oil
• nanoscale emulsion system
• thyroid cancer
• apoptosis
• antibacterial activity

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the Central Leather Research Institute (CSIR), Adyar for providing the FACS facility. We sincerely thank Dr D. Karunagaran, head of the Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, IIT Madras, for allowing access to the cell culture laboratory.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.