Effect of Rosemary Essential Oil on BIM Apoptotic Gene Expression in MCF 7 Breast Cancer Cell Line

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and its treatment is associated with many side effects. Herbal medicine has fewer side effects than chemical drugs, so they are especially important in the treatment of many diseases. Rosemary plant has anti-cancer effects due to its antioxidant properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Rosemary essential oil on BIM gene expression in MCF-7 cell line.

In this experimental study, to evaluate the cellular toxicity of rosemary essential oil, MCF-7 cells were exposed to different concentrations of essential oil for 24, 48 and 72 hours, and their survival was investigated using MTT assay. Then, MCF-7 cells were exposed to essential oil for 24 hours to determine the BIM gene expression using the Real Time PCR technique. Statistical analysis of data was performed using T-Student test and SPSS version 16 software.

The results of the MTT assay show that cell death is dose- and time-dependent. The effect of different amounts of essential oil on the survival rate of cancer cells was statistically significant (p˂0.05) and the lowest survival rate was 19% in 72 hours and with increasing essential oil concentration, cell death also increased. Real Time PCR results show a significant increase in BIM gene expression after essential oil treatment.

In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate the cytotoxic effect of rosemary essential oil on breast cancer cells and it can increase the expression of BIM, an apoptotic gene and induce anticancer effects.