ABSTRACT
Among 33 types of listed cancers worldwide, lung cancer with 2.2 million cases (12.2% of total cancer cases) ranks second next only to breast cancer. Globally, Turkey, with overall rate of 40.0 (41,264 cases), ranks 5th among top 10 countries in lung cancer. Currently used therapeutic agents and approaches have considerable side effects, and hence, there is a need for alternative agents for effective management of lung cancer. In this study, we explored the in vitro cytotoxic, antiproliferative and proapoptotic activities of Mentha x piperita L. (peppermint) essential oil in human non-small cell lung cancer (A549) cells. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay, morphological changes were determined by confocal microscopy and apoptosis promoting action was determined by flow cytometry technique. Peppermint essential oil found to effectively decrease the viability of non-small cell lung cancer cells and IC50 value was detected at low concentrations (2.12%) for 24 h. In addition, peppermint essential oil was found to alter the morphology of A549 cells, leading to changes that could describe programmed cell death. Apoptosis was the triggered cell death by Mentha x piperita essential oil. Results reveal that Mentha x piperita essential oil has antiproliferative and anticarcinogenic properties which could be attributed to the bioactive phytochemical contents and has the potential to be used as an anticancer agent and chemotherapeutic drug.
ABSTRACT
In this study, the leaves, bark and the soil supporting Populus x canadensis Moench were tested as a possible biomonitor of trace element pollution in the Middle Black Sea region of Turkey. The investigations were carried out at 23 sites. The leaves, bark and soil were analyzed for Pb++, Cd++, Fe++, Cu++ and Zn++ contents. The values of Pb++, Cd++, Fe++, Cu++ and Zn++ in the leaves varied between 14.5-40.0, 0.5-1.5, 135-486, 5.0-14.0 and 43-246 ppm, respectively. In the bark the values were between 15.5-36.5 (Pb++), 1.5-2.0 (Cd++), 39-575 (Fe++), 5.0-14.0 (Cu++) and 40.0 –1468 ppm (Zn++), whereas in the soil values for Pb++ were 1.0-4.1 ppm, for Cd++ 0.2 ppm, for Fe++ 0.6-1.8 ppm, for Cu++ 0.1-0.9 ppm and for Zn++ 0.1-1.9 ppm. A positive correlation was found between traffic density and the amount of Pb++, Fe++ and Cu++ in leaves, while a negative correlation was documented for Cd++ and Zn++. In the bark samples there was a positive correlation between traffic density and Pb++, and a negative one with Cd++, Fe++, Cu++ and Zn++. A positive correlation was determined between traffic density and the amount of Pb++, Fe++, Cu++ and Zn++ in soil. However, the amount of Cd++ was 0.2 ppm and no relationship between Cd++ and traffic density was observed.