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ABSTRACT: Aims: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anticancer effect of lemongrass oil and citral emulsion on cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa and ME-180) in vitro. Settings and Design: Citral is a very important component in lemongrass oil. It is proved to have anticancer properties in various human cancer cell lines. Methods and Material: DLS analysis revealed the average size of the lemongrass oil emulsion to be 267 nm and the average size of the citral emulsion to be 270 nm. The anticancer effect of both the emulsions was determined by MTT assay, DCFH-DA method, Rh-123 and AO/EtBr-staining. Statistical analysis used: One-way ANOVA followed by DMRT taking p<0.05 to test the significant difference between groups. Results: The results summarize that lemongrass oil and citral emulsions initiate the cancer cell death by decreasing cell proliferation, increasing intracellular ROS, altering mitochondrial membrane potential, and initiating apoptosis in HeLa and ME-180 cell lines. The present findings of this study clearly demonstrate the involvement of oxidative mechanism for the anti-proliferative effect in HeLa and ME-1 80 cell lines. ME-180 being chemosensitive showed good results at lower concentrations of citral (IC^sub 50^ 24 h 300 µg/ml), as compared to chemoresistant HeLa cells (citral IC^sub 50^ 24 h 500 µg/ml). Whereas lemongrass oil exhibited better activity in both the cell lines (IC^sub 50^ 24 h 200 µg/ml). Conclusions: All the results suggest lemongrass oil and citral emulsion could be considered as potent candidates for anticancer agents.
KEYWORDS: Lemongrass oil, Citral, Emulsion, Anticancer, HeLa, ME-180
KEY MESSAGE: Lemongrass oil and citral emulsion are potent candidates for anticancer ointment based drugs.
INTRODUCTION
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women, and the seventh overall, with an estimated 530,000 new cases in 2008. More than 85% of the global burden occurs in developing countries, where it accounts for 13% of all female cancers. In India, cervical cancer is the first threat after breast and ovarian cancer.[1] The options for treating each patient with cervical cancer depend on the stage of disease. The stage of a cancer describes its size, depth of invasion (how far it has grown into the cervix), and how far it has spread.[2] Early-stage cancer that is confined to the cervix, offers an excellent...