Anti-Inflammatory and Anticancer Evaluation of L. and L. Essential Oils.

Spearmint, L., and the German chamomile, L., preparations are used against inflammatory conditions traditionally and in modern medicinal applications. This present study aimed to evaluate pharma-grade essential oils for their anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects using COX-1, COX-2, and 5-LOX enzyme assays, as well as their apoptosis potential through the caspase pathway. In addition, the (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay was applied to evaluate the cytotoxic effects using HEK293/A549, MCF7, and PC3 cell lines. Major components of essential oil were confirmed both by gas chromatography (GC)-flame ionization detector (FID) and GC/mass spectrometry (MS) as 72.8% carvone, 12.6% limonene, 2.2% 1,8-cineole, 1.3% myrcene, and 1% -dihydrocarvone. The major components of essential oil were also confirmed as 47.9% α-bisabolol oxide A, 16.8% α-bisabolol, 13.8%, ()-β-farnesene, 5.8% α-bisabolol oxide, and 4.7% α-bisabolene oxide A. The IC values for essential oil on A549, MCF7, PC3, and HEK293 cells were calculated as 208.54 ± 1.39, 315.44 ± 1.17, 197.52 ± 0.98, and 638.79 ± 1.15 μg/mL, respectively, whereas the IC values for essential oil on A549, MCF7, and PC3 cells were 672.13 ± 2.57, 708.27 ± 2.05, and 206.49 ± 1.48 μg/mL, respectively. For essential oil, no cytotoxic effects on healthy HEK293 cells were observed at the tested concentrations. The essential oils increased the apoptotic activity, where all results were statistically significant. According to the anti-inflammatory evaluation, both and oils showed selective COX-2 inhibitions, where the SI values were calculated as 0.30 and 0.67, respectively. Overall, both and essential oils showed selective inhibition on the COX-2 enzyme and apoptosis against the selected cancer cell lines for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, with this specific dual mode of action. The initial results encourage further detailed experimental evaluations.