Abstract
Background and Objective: In recent years, with increasing interest in the use of natural substances such as essential oils, extensive studies have been conducted to use them more efficiently in the form of nanoliposomes. The present study was conducted to investigate the anti-cancer effects of nanoliposomes containing Rosemary and Zataria multiflora Boiss essential oils on HepG2 cell line under in vitro conditions. Methods: In this basic-applied research, nanoliposomes containing Rosemary and Zataria multiflora Boiss essential oils were used. The mortality rate of HepG2 cell line was calculated using MTT method and IC50 was obtained. The study groups calculated according to IC50 were: control group, the group receiving 79.72 μg/ml Zataria multiflora Boiss nanoliposome for 48 hours and the group receiving 53.50 μg/ml Rosemary nanoliposome for 72 hours. The rate of apoptosis and necrosis of cancer cells and the type of cancer cell cycle were determined by flow cytometry. Findings: The results showed that nanoliposomes containing Rosemary essential oil after 72 hours (53.50 μg/ml) and Zataria multiflora Boiss after 48 hours (79.72 μg/ml) showed the highest capability to inhibit the growth of HepG2 cell line (p<0.05). The type of cell mortality was significantly apoptotic compared to the control group, as nanoliposomes containing Zataria multiflora Boiss caused apoptosis in 37.3% and Rosemary nanoliposomes in 32.1% of cells (p<0.05). Inhibition of cancer cells was in the G2 phase, which indicates that nanoliposomes inhibit cancer cells in the cell division phase (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that nanoliposomes containing essential oils have anti-cancer properties, cause cell apoptosis and stop cell growth in the G2 phase of the cell cycle.