Essential Oil and 1,8-Cineole from Artemisia lavandulaefolia Induces Apoptosis in KB Cells via Mitochondrial Stress and Caspase Activation

Artemisia lavandulaefolia has been utilized in traditional medicines for the treatment of several diseases. In this study, we attempted to determine whether the essential oil and 1,8-cineole of A. lavandulaefolia induce apoptosis in KB cells. The oil and 1,8-cineole induced the cell death of KB cells as evidenced by the increased cell population in the sub-G1 phase, the appearance of condensed and/or fragmented nuclei, and the generation of a cleaved PARP product. The treatment of the cells with the oil also induced changes in the mitochondrial level of Bcl-2 and Bax, thereby inducing the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol. Furthermore, the oil increased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-jun N-terminal kinase, and p38 MAPK, but 1,8-cineole activated pp38 and pJNK at the same concentrations. These findings show that the mitochondrial and MAPKs pathways might be involved in the oil-induced apoptosis, and may enhance our current understanding of the anticancer functions of the oil to a greater degree than 1,8-cineole.