Cytotoxic effects of Trachyspermum ammi and Ferula assafoetida on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cell lines

Abstract Background The induction of oxidative stress is one of the most important cancer etiologies. Plant essential oils contain many effective antioxidant compounds in improving oxidative stress. In the present study, the pharmacological potential of Trachyspermum ammi essential oil (TAEO) and Ferula assafoetida essential oil (FAEO) was compared in oxidative stress improvement and cytotoxic effect. TAEO and FAEO were prepared by Clevenger apparatus, and the medicinal compounds in the essential oils were evaluated by GC–MS assay. The TAEO and FAEO were also evaluated as to their phenolic and flavonoid content, monovalent reducing power, and total radical scavenging activity, respectively, by Folin–Ciocalteu, aluminum chloride, FRAP, and DPPH methods. The cytotoxic effect of the TAEO and FAEO was evaluated by MTT assay on MCF-7 (ER + ) and MDA-MB-468 (ER − ) breast cancer cell lines. Results The GC–MS analysis indicated that thymol and (E)-Sec-Butyl propenyl disulfide, respectively, were the highest components of TAEO and FAEO. The phenolic content ( P < 0.0001), flavonoid content ( P < 0.0001), reducing power ( P < 0.0001), radical scavenging activity ( P < 0.0001), and cytotoxic effect ( P < 0.05) of TAEO were significantly higher than FAEO. The IC 50 value of the cytotoxic effect of TAEO on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 after 72 h of incubation was, respectively, 192.5 ± 42.57 and 331.4 ± 7.24 ppm. Conclusion The cytotoxic effect of TAEO was more potent on the MCF-7 cell line, probably in an estrogen-dependent manner of cellular growth inhibition. It appears that TAEO has a high capacity for improving oxidative stress and inhibiting cell proliferation in breast cancer.