Fennel, the Functional Herb Which Stimulates Free Radical Cytotoxicity Against Cancer Cells, Scientists Show

Fennel may be considered secondary theoretical and natural agent for prevention and treatment of cancers, some scientists suggested.

Cytotoxicity is an action that can cause cell death. Substances with cytotoxic function processed the capability to induce apoptosis by binding to Fas expressed with an anti-apoptotic function to some target cells.

Some researchers suggested that some plants pigment, including herbal medicine lipophilic secondary metabolites, process antioxidant properties in protecting healthy cells against cytotoxicity but also stimulating the expression of free radical cytotoxicity against cancer cells.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a plant species of the genus, belongings to Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), native to the Mediterranean.

The herbal medicine used in traditional and herbal medicine as warming, carminative, antispasmodic, antidepressant agent and to stimulate the appetite, ease indigestion, soothe coughing, reduce intestinal spasms, to regulate the menstrual cycle and relieve PMS,...


In the study to examine cytotoxic effects of some plants selection based on existing ethnobotanical information by interviewing the local healers and tested on the murine fibrosarcoma L929sA cells and on the human breast cancer cells MDA-MB231 and MCF7, researchers found that organic extracts from fennel exert a significant activity on an IC (50) value at 24 h of 700 and 500 μg/mL, on L929sA and MCF7 cells, respectively, through their cytotoxicity.

Further analysis, researchers also discovered, the extracts with different concentration limit the range of genes activated by NF-κB, in the regulation of the expression of various genes by allowing the only expression of genes, that contribute to an effective immune response.

Also, in vitro, acetone extracts of F. vulgare demonstrated a strong cytotoxic effect against kidney (Vero) cell line and an adenocarcinoma cervical cancer (HeLa) cell line.

Additionally, according to the investigation of the essential oil of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) which is found to process a rich in lipophilic secondary metabolites, researchers found that the main components of F. vulgare oil, trans-anethole presented 36.8% in the oil demonstrated a significant antioxidant activity in the protection of healthy cells and cytotoxic activity against HeLa (human cervical cancer), Caco-2 (human colorectal adenocarcinoma), MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma), CCRF-CEM (human T lymphoblast leukaemia) and CEM/ADR5000 (adriamycin resistant leukaemia) cancer cell lines.

Moreover, at the IC50 values between 30-210 mg L-1 and thus the essential oil exhibited low cytotoxicity compared to cytotoxic reference compound (trans-anethole).

Interestingly, in the study carried out to determine the cytotoxic effect of seven plant extracts and the isolated compounds - syringin and 4-methoxycinnamyl alcohol - on cancerous and non-cancerous cells by the University of Pretoria, researchers showed that the ethanol extract of Foeniculum vulgare exhibits the most significant toxicity with an IC50 value of 19.97 μg/mL on HeLa cells.

4-methoxycinnamyl alcohol compound isolated from fennel only showed toxicity against MCF-7, HeLa and DU145 cancer cell line but also inhibited all cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 14.24, 7.82 and 22.10 μg/mL

The DNA fragmentation study also revealed that application of 4-methoxycinnamyl alcohol takes place at a concentration of 10 μg/mL after 48 h exposure.

Taken all together, fennel extracts and essential oil may be considered a secondary therapeutic treatment for prevention and treatment of cancers through its antioxidant and cytotoxicity effects.

Since all experiments were only taking place in vivo and vitro, further data collection on large example size and multi-centers studies performed human during the course of the disease will be necessary to complete the picture of anti-cancers possibilities.


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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Foeniculum vulgare Mill: A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Contemporary Application, and Toxicology by Shamkant B. Badgujar, Vainav V. Patel, and Atmaram H. Bandivdekar(PMC)
(2) Cytotoxicity of the Essential Oil of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) from Tajikistan by Sharopov F1,2, Valiev A3, Satyal P4, Gulmurodov I5, Yusufi S6, Setzer WN7, Wink M(PubMed)
(3) Cytotoxicity of syringin and 4-methoxycinnamyl alcohol isolated from Foeniculum vulgare on selected human cell lines by Lall N1, Kishore N, Binneman B, Twilley D, van de Venter M, du Plessis-Stoman D, Boukes G, Hussein A.(PubMed)