Essential Oils from Côa Valley Lamiaceae Species: Cytotoxicity and Antiproliferative Effect on Glioblastoma Cells
Mário Pedro Marques,
Beatriz Guapo Neves,
Carla Varela,
Mónica Zuzarte,
Ana Cristina Gonçalves,
Maria Inês Dias,
Joana S. Amaral,
Lillian Barros,
Mariana Magalhães,
Célia Cabral
Affiliations
Mário Pedro Marques
Clinic Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
Beatriz Guapo Neves
Clinic Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
Carla Varela
Clinic Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
Mónica Zuzarte
Clinic Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
Ana Cristina Gonçalves
Laboratory of Oncobiology and Hematology, University Clinic of Hematology and Applied Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
Maria Inês Dias
Mountain Research Centre (CIMO), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Campus Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Joana S. Amaral
Mountain Research Centre (CIMO), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Campus Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Lillian Barros
Mountain Research Centre (CIMO), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Campus Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Mariana Magalhães
Clinic Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
Célia Cabral
Clinic Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
Lavandula pedunculata (Mill.) Cav., Mentha cervina L. and Thymus mastichina (L.) L. subsp. mastichina are representative species of the Côa Valley’s flora, a Portuguese UNESCO World Heritage Site. L. pedunculata and T. mastichina are traditionally used to preserve olives and to aromatize bonfires on Saint John’s Eve, while M. cervina is mainly used as a spice for river fish dishes. Despite their traditional uses, these aromatic plants are still undervalued, and literature regarding their bioactivity, especially anticancer, is scarce. In this work, the morphology of secretory structures was assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the composition of essential oils (EOs) was characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The study proceeded with cytotoxic evaluation of EOs in tumor and non-tumor cells with the cell death mechanism explored in glioblastoma (GB) cells. L. pedunculata EO presented the most pronounced cytotoxic/antiproliferative activity against tumor cells, with moderate cytotoxicity against non-tumor cells. Whereas, M. cervina EO exhibited a slightly lower cytotoxic effect against tumor cells and did not affect the viability of non-tumor cells. Meanwhile, T. mastichina EO did not induce a strong cytotoxic effect against GB cells. L. pedunculata and M. cervina EOs lead to cell death by inducing apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The present study suggests that L. pedunculata and M. cervina EOs have a strong cytotoxic and antiproliferative potential to be further studied as efficient antitumor agents.
