Recently, essential oils (EOs) have garnered attention for their biological properties as a source of
natural compounds with anticancer and antioxidant effects. Artemisia herba alba grows commonly
on the dry steppes of the Mediterranean regions in Northern Africa, Western Asia, and Southwestern
Europe. This species is native to Palestine and the western region of Jordan, known as Sheeh. It is
employed by the Bedouins for the remedy of many diseases. Recently, essential oils (EOs) have been
booming with a growing interest in their use as palliative treatments to conventional medicine due
to their biological qualities. The objective of this study is to identify the chemical composition of EO
extracted from the dry leaves of A. herba alba and to evaluate their in vitro antioxidant, anticancer,
and α-amylase and lipase inhibitory activity. The EO was extracted via hydrodistillation and examined
using gas chromatography-mass (GC-MS) spectrometry to determine its chemical composition.
The primary components included 1,8-cineole (28.67%), followed by trans-thujone (24.00%), cisthujone (17.69%), camphor (12.76%), and concluding with terpinen-4-ol (8.34%). Biologically, the EO
performed high antioxidant activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrzyl (DPPH) with 22.17 ± 1.11 µg/
mL and modest lipase and α-amylase activity. The EO displayed significant anticancer properties
against B16F10 and MCF-7 with IC50 values of 12.39 and 13.60 µg/mL, respectively. A 1:1 combination
of Artemisia herba alba and Teucrium polium EOs improved the anticancer activities against B16F10
and MCF-7 cell lines, with IC50 values of 6.184 and 9.427, respectively. Adding 25–50 µg/mL to Taxol
(10 ng) caused a remarkable increase in the inhibition of cancer cells. This enhancement in cancer
cell inhibition suggests a potential synergistic effect between the essential oil and Taxol, warranting
further investigation into their combinatory use in therapeutic applications. Future studies may
explore the underlying mechanisms of this synergy to optimize treatment strategies for cancer
patients.
 

العنوان

Scientific Reports

الناشر

Springer Nature

بلد الناشر

المملكة المتحدة

Indexing

Scopus

معامل التأثير

3,9

نوع المنشور

Both (Printed and Online)

المجلد

15

السنة

2025

الصفحات

31538