Chemical composition, in vitro anti-tumor activities and related mechanisms of the essential oil from the roots of Potentilla discolor

• Published in: Industrial crops and products Vol. 113; pp. 19 - 27
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jing, Huang, Ri-Zhen, Cao, Hong-Jie, Cheng, An-Wei, Jiang, Cheng-Shi, Liao, Zhi-Xin, Liu, Chao, Sun, Jin-Yue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.03.2018
• Subjects: Anti-tumor activities; Apoptosis analysis; Cell cycle analysis; Essential oil; Potentilla discolor; Essential oil; Anti-tumor activities; Cell cycle analysis; Apoptosis analysis; Potentilla discolor
• ISSN: 0926-6690; 1872-633X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2017.12.071

[Display omitted] •A systematical analysis was performed on the composition of essential oil extracted from Potentilla discolor for the first time.•Potentilla discolor essential oil has selective and significant anti-proliferative effect on T24 cell lines.•Cell growth was inhibited by Potentilla discolor essential oil and cell cycle was arrested in DNA synthesis phase.•Potentilla discolor essential oil led to mitochondrial dysfunction and activations of caspase-9 and caspase-3 for causing cell apoptosis.•Potentilla discolor essential oil has a great potential for being used in pharmaceutical industries. Potentilla discolor has been used as the Traditional Chinese Medicine ingredient in prescription for over 400 years, and scientific evidences have confirmed its effectiveness as an anticancer agent. The present study is undertaken to assess, for the first time, the chemical composition, potential in vitro anti-tumor activities and related mechanisms of the essential oil, which was extracted from Potentilla discolor fresh roots by supercritical CO2 fluid extraction technology. Twenty-nine compositions were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The anti-tumor activity of the essential oil was screened against four cancer cell lines and the lowest IC50 value was 19.02 μg/mL on T24 cell line. Then, T24 was selected as a representative cell line for the related mechanism research. As a result, cell cycle assay confirmed that the cell growth was inhibited by Potentilla discolor essential oil and cell cycle was arrested in DNA synthesis phase. A series of apoptosis analysis indicated that Potentilla discolor essential oil induced apoptosis through mitochondrion-mediated intrinsic pathway. This study revealed that Potentilla discolor essential oil has significant anti-tumor activity. It should be useful in the search for new potential anti-tumor agents and pharmaceutical industries.