Comparison Effects of Alginate Nanoparticles Containing Syzygium aromaticum Essential Oil and Eugenol on Apoptotic Regulator Genes and Viability of A-375 and MCF-7 Cancer Cell Lines

Many research studies have recently been conducted to develop effective and low-toxicity cancer drugs. In this study, in vitro induction of cytotoxic and apoptotic effects in A-375 melanoma and MCF-7 breast cancer cells with alginate nanoparticles containing Syzygium aromaticum (clove) essential oil and eugenol were investigated. First, GC-MS identified compounds of clove EO-MS; three major compounds identified were eugenol (66%), trans-caryophyllene (12%), and eugenol acetate (10%). Afterward, alginate nanoparticles containing clove essential oil and eugenol (Alg-clove and Alg-eugenol) with particle sizes of 122 +/- 7 nm (PDI 0.33 and SPAN 0.72) and 87 +/- 8 nm (PDI 0.25 and SPAN 0.66) were prepared. Then, Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) confirmed successful loading in the alginate nanoparticles. Next, cell viability was determined using the MTT cell proliferation assay. After that, Bax and Bcl-2 gene expression ratio was evaluated to study the presence of apoptotic cell death using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). As a result, a dose-dependent cytotoxic effect against the proliferation of both cancer cell lines was observed. IC50 values of Alg-clove on A-375 and MCF-7 cells were close together: 358.3 (286-448) and 321.9 (196-529) mu g/ml. These values for Alg-eugenol were obtained as 757.5 (407-950) and 328.8 (202-536) mu g/ml. Moreover, after treatment with both particles, the expression ratio of Bax and Bcl-2 genes increased and showed these particles had impressive apoptotic effects on both cancer cell lines. The results proved that Alg-clove and Alg-eugenol have proper cytotoxicity against cancer cells and could apply to complementary medicine.