Pinus morrisonicola needles essential oil nanoemulsions as a novel strong antioxidant and anticancer agent

Regarding the anticancer effects of pine (Pinus morrisonicola, PM) needle essential oil (PNEO) and its rich bioactive contents we aimed to improve PNEO bio accessibility and efficiency by nano emulsification and evaluate its biological effects. For this purpose, ultrasound nano emulsification was utilized to synthesis of PNEO Nano emulsions (PNEO-NE). Then the PNEO-NE was characterized and evaluated its biological properties including cytotoxic, antioxidant and pro apoptotic effects by cellular and molecular methods. The results confirmed the formation of PNEO Nano emulsion with an average diameter of 41.16 nm and dispersion index of 0.31. The PNEO-NE showed a greater inhibitory effect against cancer cells compared to normal cell (HFF). Moreover, the significantly up-regulated genes (Cas-3, Cas-9, VEGF/VEGFR, CAT and SOD) and increased subG1 peaks indicate the apoptotic death in HT-29 cells. PNEO-NE inhibited ABTS and DPPH free radicals (IC50 4 and 40 µg/ml). According to results, the safe efficient PNEO-NE system displays a notable cancer cell-sensitive cytotoxic impact by inducing apoptotic mediated pathways.