Cytotoxic and genetic evaluation of Foeniculum vulgare essential oil nanoemulsion against MCF7 breast cancer cell line

Aim and Background: Nanoemulsions of essential oils are widely used due to their stability and higher biological efficiency. In the current study, we have evaluated the effect of Foeniculum vulgare nanoemulsion against the MCF7 breast cancer cells. Methods: The nanoemulsion of F.vulgare was prepared by mixing the essential oil, tween 20, and distilled water and characterized by FTIR analysis. Then, its cytotoxicity against MCF7 cell line was evaluated by MTT assay. Furthermore, the expression level of pro-apoptotic (BAX) and anti-apoptotic (BCL2) gene markers have been investigated by RT-PCR. Results and discussion: In this study, it has been shown that F.vulgare nanoemulsion increased the cytotoxicity of the essential oil, as revealed by decreasing IC50 and upregulating the expression of apoptotic genes (BAX and BCL2). Conclusion: The results of this study provide additional insights into the application of F.vulgare essential oil nanoemulsion as a potential adjuvant formula against breast cancer cells