Evaluation of the effect of menthol on apoptosis induction and Bax and Bcl2 gene expression in the CT-26 colon cancer cell line

This study aimed to investigate the apoptotic effects of menthol on CT-26 colon cancer cells.

In this experimental study, CT-26 colon cancer cells were treated with 1 to 5 mM menthol for 24 and 48 h. The viability of colon cancer cells was calculated by MTT assay. DAPI staining was used to evaluate apoptosis induction and the expression of Bax and Bcl2 genes was evaluated by Real-time-PCR technique.

The results from the MTT assay showed that menthol inhibits CT26 cell growth in a dose and time-dependent manner. The results from DAPI staining indicated that menthol leads to condensation and breakdown in chromatin. The results of real-time PCR showed that expression of Bax increased at 3 mM concentration of menthol and Bcl2 gene expression increased in cells treated with 2 mM concentration of menthol compared to control.

The results showed that menthol induces apoptosis in CT-26 colon cancer cells. Therefore, the use of this monoterpene can be considered as a promising strategy in clinical studies of colon cancer.