Antiproliferative Activity of Essential Oils from Colombian Plants

Colombia has a great diversity of medicinal plants, but few have been investigated. In this work, the antiproliferative activity of essential oils obtained by microwave-assisted hydrodistillation was evaluated. Fifteen samples from 11 species were analyzed in MTT assays in cancer cells MCF-7, HeLa and HepG-2, and normal human cells (HEK293) and animal cells (Vero and B16F10) were included to evaluate selectivity. The chemical composition of the active oils was determined by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Essential oils from four species showed antiproliferative activity (IC₅0: ≤50 μg / mL) in HeLa and / or MCF-7 cells, in the following range (selectivity index in parenthesis): Piper cumanense H.B.K. (4.7) ≥ Piper subflavum var. espejuelanum C. DC (3.9) ≥ Salvia officinalis Linneo. (3.6) ≥ Piper eriopodom (Miq.) C.DC. (31). The CG-MS analysis identified β-caryophyllene, a-copaene, β -pinene, a-pinene and linalool as major components. Active essential oils could serve as starting points to develop herbal medicines for cancer palliative care.