Synergism of Lippia alba essential oils with statins in antiproliferative and hypolipogenic effects

MONTERO VILLEGAS S; RODENAK KLADNIEW B; POLO MP; CICCIÓ ALBERTI JF; GARCÍA DE BRAVO MM

Rosario

Congreso; L Reunión Anual de SAIB; 2014

Resumen Lippia alba (Miller) N.E. Brown is an aromatic shrub which has many chemotypes (CHMs) used in folk medicine. Its essential oil (EO) has a large number and variety of monoterpenes (Mts). Mts have shown to inhibit tumor cell proliferation (CP). This event as well as potential lipid lowering effect is associated with the action exerted by Mts in different lipid metabolic pathways. Statins, as simvastatin (SV), are HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) inhibitors used primarily for hyperlipidemia, but have also been studied as anticancer agents. In the present work we studied the antiproliferative and hypolipogenic action of the combination of SV and L. alba EO (LEO) in HepG2 and A549 cells. CP was evaluated using MTT and neutral red assays , cells were treated with LEOs of four CHMs alone or combined with SV. All LEO-SV associations induced synergistic CP inhibition rather than treatments alone. For tagetenone LEO (TLEO)-SV combination, lipid composition and incorporation of 14C-acetate into total, unsaponifiable and phospholipids (PL) were evaluated. The amount of HMGCR was also quantified by western-blot. TLEO-SV increases HMCR quantity, decreases cholesterol, PL and triglycerids synthesis and lipid content, instead of each drug separately. Our results suggest that LEO-SV synergism may be used as a novel cancer therapeutic regimen and as a more effective dyslipidemia control than statins alone.