European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Eugenol is a phenylpropanoid group compound found in cloves, nutmeg,
cinnamon, and bay leaves. Apart from being used as a cosmetic, perfume, and food
ingredient, eugenol is known to have an antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and
anti-cancer profile. Eugenol has therapeutic potential by increasing reactive oxygen
species formation, decreasing anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, increasing the release of
cytochrome c that leads to apoptosis in cancer cells, and inhibit the epithelial to
mesenchymal transition (EMT) process that could reduce the cell ability to migrating.
We synthesized eugenol loaded chitosan nanoparticles (Nano-EU) by ionic gelation
method to overcome its shortcoming which is volatile and to increase its bioavailability.
The nanoparticles were characterized by using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS).
Anticancer activity of Nano-EU was investigatedin cervical cancer HeLa cell line by flow
cytometry using Annexin-V/PI staining, and by measuring cleaved-caspase-3 protein
expression which is the executor of the apoptosis process by immunofluorescence.
The results of the study evidenced that Nano-EU inducing apoptosis and increasing
activated caspase-3 expression in HeLa cells. Nano-EU could also inhibit cell migration by
reducing vimentin and Snail as mesenchymal markers leading to inhibition of the EMT
process. Further research is still needed to investigate the anticancer potential of Nano-EU
in HeLa cells to in vivo and clinical studies.