Molecular Medicine Research Center, Biomedicine Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021 Dec 5;21(1):294. doi: 10.1186/s12906-021-03464-2.
Falcaria vulgaris Bernh among the most important member of Apiaceae family has been used for medical investigation in Iran and some regions in the world. This plant possesses a range of coumarin and flavonoids compounds that have many therapeutic properties such as gastrointestinal and liver diseases, skin ulcers, gastric ulcers, and intestinal inflammation. It has also been found that these compounds lead to cytotoxic effects.
This study contains concentrates on the cytotoxic effect and induction of apoptosis on cancerous cells (SW-872) through various extracts and essential oil of Falcaria vulgaris Bernh. It considers the volatile compounds of effective samples.
The shoot of the plant was extracted by the Soxhlet apparatus and its essential oil was taken by the Clevenger apparatus. The cytotoxicity of the samples was evaluated by the MTT method and the mechanism of cancer cell death by flow cytometry and finally, the volatile compounds of essential oils and effective extracts were identified by GC-MS.
The results demonstrated that n-Hexane extract and 40% VLC fraction had the greatest cytotoxic effect on SW-872 cells. While, the most abundant volatile compounds in essential oil and 40% VLC fraction of n-Hexane extract were terpenoid compounds like (+) spathulenol and caryophyllene oxide, in n-Hexane extract tetradecan, and spathulenol were the most, respectively.
The fraction of 40% n-Hexane was in a concentration-dependent manner and significantly with controlling cells inhibited the growth of cancer cells. A plausible explanation could be made to account for this effect. This inhibition was made through induction of apoptosis and due to the presence of effective volatile compounds such as terpenoids and non-terpenoids which could be considered as valuable natural sources for the isolation of anti-cancer compounds.
Falcaria vulgaris Bernh 是伞形科最重要的成员之一，在伊朗和世界上一些地区被用于医学研究。这种植物含有一系列香豆素和类黄酮化合物，具有许多治疗特性，如胃肠道和肝脏疾病、皮肤溃疡、胃溃疡和肠道炎症。此外，还发现这些化合物具有细胞毒性作用。
本研究主要关注通过 Falcaria vulgaris Bernh 的不同提取物和精油对癌细胞（SW-872）的细胞毒性作用和凋亡诱导作用，并研究有效样品中的挥发性化合物。
采用索氏提取法提取植物的茎，用克利夫兰挥发油提取器提取其精油。采用 MTT 法评价样品的细胞毒性，采用流式细胞术研究癌细胞死亡的机制，最后采用 GC-MS 鉴定精油和有效提取物中的挥发性化合物。
结果表明，正己烷提取物和 40%VLC 馏分对 SW-872 细胞的细胞毒性最强。而精油和正己烷提取物 40%VLC 馏分中含量最丰富的挥发性化合物为萜类化合物，如（+）spathulenol 和石竹烯氧化物，正己烷提取物中含量最丰富的分别为十四烷和 spathulenol。
40%正己烷馏分呈浓度依赖性，能显著抑制癌细胞的生长。可以对这种作用进行合理的解释。这种抑制作用是通过诱导细胞凋亡实现的，这是由于存在有效的挥发性化合物，如萜类化合物和非萜类化合物，它们可以被认为是分离抗癌化合物的有价值的天然来源。
