Vepris macrophylla essential oil produces notable antiproliferative activity and morphological alterations in human breast adenocarcinoma cells

Medicinal plants contain numerous bioactive molecules that synergistically provide therapeutic benefits. We have devoted our attention to various EOs without toxicity to normal cells, studying their activities against human cancer cells. In particular, we have studied the cytotoxicity of Vepris macrophylla (Baker) I. Verd. EO. V. macrophylla is an evergreen tree of Madagascar where is much appreciated as a source of traditional remedies. Its major volatile components are citral, i.e., a mixture of neral and geranial, citronellol and myrcene. The antiproliferative activities of V. macrophylla EO were studied against human breast adenocarcinoma cell line SKBR3. Cellular metabolism was analyzed by MTT assay at different concentrations of EO and at different times of incubation (24, 48 and 72 h). Moreover, morphological and ultrastructural analyses were performed to study its antiproliferative effects against human adenocarcinoma cells, demonstrating the ability of V. macrophylla EO, stored inside numerous intracellular vesicles, to damage both plasma membranes and disorganize the cytoskeleton protein as actin filaments.