Spearmint,Mentha spicataL., and
the German chamomile,Matricaria chamomillaL., preparations are used against inflammatory conditions traditionally
and in modern medicinal applications. This present study aimed to
evaluate pharma-grade essential oils for theirin vitroanti-inflammatory and anticancer effects using COX-1, COX-2, and
5-LOX enzyme assays, as well as their apoptosis potential through
the caspase pathway. In addition, the (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5
diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay was applied to evaluate
thein vitrocytotoxic effects using HEK293/A549,
MCF7, and PC3 cell lines. Major components ofM. spicataessential oil were confirmed both by gas chromatography (GC)-flame
ionization detector (FID) and GC/mass spectrometry (MS) as 72.8% carvone,
12.6% limonene, 2.2% 1,8-cineole, 1.3% myrcene, and 1%trans-dihydrocarvone. The major components ofM. chamomillaessential oil were also confirmed as 47.9% α-bisabolol oxide
A, 16.8% α-bisabolol, 13.8%, (Z)-β-farnesene,
5.8% α-bisabolol oxide, and 4.7% α-bisabolene oxide A.
The IC50values forM. chamomillaessential oil on A549, MCF7, PC3, and HEK293 cells were calculated
as 208.54 ± 1.39, 315.44 ± 1.17, 197.52 ± 0.98, and
638.79 ± 1.15 μg/mL, respectively, whereas the IC50values forM. spicataessential oil
on A549, MCF7, and PC3 cells were 672.13 ± 2.57, 708.27 ±
2.05, and 206.49 ± 1.48 μg/mL, respectively. ForM. spicataessential oil, no cytotoxic effects on
healthy HEK293 cells were observed at the tested concentrations. The
essential oils increased the apoptotic activity, where all results
were statistically significant. According to the anti-inflammatory
evaluation, bothM. chamomillaandM. spicataoils showed selective COX-2 inhibitions,
where the SI values were calculated as 0.30 and 0.67, respectively.
Overall, bothM. spicataandM. chamomillaessential oils showed selective inhibition
on the COX-2 enzyme and apoptosis against the selected cancer cell
lines for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, with this
specific dual mode of action. The initial results encourage further
detailedin vivoexperimental evaluations.