OBJECTIVE: To analyze the chemical composition of essential oil from Thymus citriodorus and its toxic effect on liver cancer cells. METHODS: The essential oil from Thymus citriodorus leaves was extracted by steam distillation, and GC-MS was used for analyzing chemical composition. 35 components were identified which accounted for 95.44% of the total peak area. The main components were borneol (28.82%), thymol (14.43%), 3, 7-dimethyl-1, 6-octadiene-3-ol (8.26%), 1-methyl-4-[alpha-hydroxy-isopropyl] cyclohexene (8.23%) and terpenes camphor (5.1%), et. al. The toxic effects on HepG2 cells and expression of NF-kappabeta65 were measured by MTT assay and confocal laser scanning microscopy, respectively. RESULTS: The IC50 of HepG2 cells inhibition was 0.34%. The mean fluorescence intensity of NF-kappabeta65 expression was as follows: control group 323.25, 2(-10) concentration group 84.18, 2(-11) concentration group 197.93 and 2(-12) concentration group 261.43. CONCLUSION: The essential oil from Thymus citriodorus leaves has strong toxic effects. The induced apoptosis mechanism may be associated with the expression of NF-kappabeta65.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the chemical composition of essential oil from Thymus citriodorus and its toxic effect on liver cancer cells. METHODS: The essential oil from Thymus citriodorus leaves was extracted by steam distillation, and GC-MS was used for analyzing chemical composition. 35 components were identified which accounted for 95.44% of the total peak area. The main components were borneol (28.82%), thymol (14.43%), 3, 7-dimethyl-1, 6-octadiene-3-ol (8.26%), 1-methyl-4-[alpha-hydroxy-isopropyl] cyclohexene (8.23%) and terpenes camphor (5.1%), et. al. The toxic effects on HepG2 cells and expression of NF-kappabeta65 were measured by MTT assay and confocal laser scanning microscopy, respectively. RESULTS: The IC50 of HepG2 cells inhibition was 0.34%. The mean fluorescence intensity of NF-kappabeta65 expression was as follows: control group 323.25, 2(-10) concentration group 84.18, 2(-11) concentration group 197.93 and 2(-12) concentration group 261.43. CONCLUSION: The essential oil from Thymus citriodorus leaves has strong toxic effects. The induced apoptosis mechanism may be associated with the expression of NF-kappabeta65.