Loading Pistacia atlantica essential oil in solid lipid nanoparticles and its effect on apoptosis of breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231

Figures & data

Table 1. Compounds identified in the methanol extracts of essential oil by GC-MS.

No	CAS number	Peak RT (min)	Compound detected	Peak area (%)
1	000508-32-7	6.875	Tricyclene	0.11
2	007785-26-4	7.334	α.-Pinene	95.06
3	000079-92-5	7.711	Camphene	0.66
4	003387-41-5	8.571	Sabinene	0.31
5	018172-67-3	8.711	β-Pinene	1.80
6	000123-35-3	9.308	β-Myrcene	0.27
7	013466-78-9	10.117	3-Carene	0.32
8	000099-87-6	10.444	Cymene	0.26
9	000470-82-6	10.714	1,8-Cineole	0.18
10	000138-86-3	10.834	Limonene	0.43
11	000586-62-9	13.380	α-terpinolene	0.60

GC-MS, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer; RT, Retention Time.

Table 2. Formulation composition and the physicochemical characterization data of the prepared PAEO-loaded SLNs (% w/w).

Formulation code	DW	Sa	GMS	Sn60	Sn80	T80	EO	Z-average (nm)	PDI	ZP (mv)	LC	EE (%)
SLN1	91	1	0	1	0	2	5	105.6 ± 1.9	0.29 ± 0.11	−8.8 ± 2.1	9.5	96.8
SLN2	86	1	0	1	0	2	10	100.4 ± 1.6	0.26 ± 0.03	−8.2 ± 0.8	9.5	97.1
SLN3	91	0	1	1	0	2	5	325.2 ± 2.0	0.55 ± 0.12	−16.1 ± 1.1	9.3	94.3
SLN4	86	0	1	1	0	2	10	97.9 ± 1.0	0.40 ± 0.03	−9.9 ± 1.2	9.6	97.3
SLN5	91	1	0	0	1	2	5	246.6 ± 0.8	0.32 ± 0.02	−0.64 ± 1.4	9.4	95.4
SLN6	86	1	0	0	1	2	10	334.5 ± 3.2	0.27 ± 0.32	−2.57 ± 1.2	9.3	94.1
SLN7	91	0	1	0	1	2	5	92.2 ± 2.1	0.35 ± 0.21	−9.7 ± 1.6	9.7	97.9
SLN8	86	0	1	0	1	2	10	278.3 ± 2.0	0.26 ± 0.01	−5.30 ± 1.0	9.4	95.3

The data are the mean and standard deviation of three determinations (n = 3), DW (distilled water); Sa (Stearic acid); GMS (glycerol monostearate); Sn60 (Span 60); Sn80 (Span 80); Tn80 (Tween 80); EO (essential oil); PDI (Polydispersity index); ZP (Zeta potential); LC (loading capacity); EE (encapsulation efficiency).

Figure 1. (A) Particle size distribution histogram of optimized PAEO-SLN4 and (B) TEM image of PAEO-SLN4 (Note: PAEO-SLN: Pistacia atlantica EO loaded in SLNs).

Figure 2. MDA-MB-231 cell viability after being exposed to different concentrations (50, 10, 1, 0.5, 0.1, 0.05, 0.01, and 0.005 µg/mL) of PAEO-SLN, PAEO, and placebo for (A) 24 h and (B) 48 h (Note: Data are presented as mean ± standard deviations (n = 5). PAEO-SLN: Pistacia atlantica EO loaded in SLNs).

Figure 3. MDA-MB-231 cells were incubated with IC₅₀ concentrations of PAEO-SLN and placebo for 24 h and the cell cycle in (A) control, (B) in the presence of placebo, and (C) PAEO-SLN determined by flow cytometry. (D) The quantitative analysis was plotted to show the population of cell cycle phases (Note: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001 compared with the control sample. PAEO-SLN: Pistacia atlantica EO loaded in SLNs).

Figure 4. MDA-MB-231 cells were incubated with IC₅₀ concentrations of PAEO-SLN and placebo for 48 h. The cell cycle (A) in control, (B) in presence of placebo, and (C) PAEO-SLN determined by flow cytometry. (D) The quantitative analysis was plotted to show the population of cell cycle phases (Note: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ****P < 0.0001 compared with the control sample. PAEO-SLN: Pistacia atlantica EO loaded in SLNs).

Figure 5. MDA-MB-231 cells incubated with IC₅₀ concentrations of PAEO-SLN and placebo for 24 h and the induction of apoptosis (A) in control, (B) in presence of placebo, and (C) PAEO-SLN determined by flow cytometry. (D) The quantitative analysis was plotted to show the population of VC, EA, LA, and NC cells (Note: *P < 0.05 and ***P < 0.001 compared with the control sample. VC: viable cells; EA: early apoptotic; LA: late apoptotic; NC: necrosis cells; PI: propidium iodide; PAEO-SLN: Pistacia atlantica EO loaded in SLNs; PI: propidium iodide).

Figure 6. MDA-MB-231 cells incubated with IC₅₀ concentrations of PAEO-SLN and placebo for 48 h and the induction of apoptosis (A) in control, (B) in presence of placebo, and (C) PAEO-SLN determined by flow cytometry. (D) The quantitative analysis was plotted to show the population of VC, EA, LA, and NC cells (Note: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ****P < 0.0001 compared with the control sample. VC, viable cells; EA, early apoptotic; LA, late apoptotic; NC, necrosis cells; PAEO-SLN, Pistacia Atlantica EO loaded in SLNs; PI, propidium iodide).