Appraisals on the anticancer properties of Mentha species using bioassays and docking studies

The medicinal properties of Mentha species are highly regarded due to their pro-health biological properties. This study aimed to investigate the fractions and bioactive compounds that are responsible for anticancer properties of the Mentha species. Firstly, the cytotoxic effects of leaves and hairy roots extracts from two Mentha species including Mentha piperita L. and Mentha spicata L., were assessed by MTT assay. Then, a bioassay-guided fractionation of an extract with higher toxicity against cancer cells was conducted to yield the bioactive compound. Among all the four extracts tested, the leaf extract of M. piperita possessed the greatest cytotoxic activity against A549, MCF-7, and PC-3 cells. Bioassay-guided fractionation revealed that the purified fraction showed a cytotoxic effect (IC50 =54.8 μg/mL) against the PC-3 cancer cell line and exhibited potent anticancer activity by inducing apoptosis and wound healing properties, as well as upregulating the expression of tumor suppressor genes. Analytical investigations on the purified fraction utilizing LC-MS NMR, and FT-IR methodologies indicated that the identified anticancer metabolite was considered as a furanic compound called 2-ethylhexyl 5-hydroxyfuran-2 carboxylate, which is reported for the first time here. Molecular docking analyses indicated that the furan derivative has a great potential to differentially interact with cancer-related receptors. Therefore, this evidence suggests that the Mentha species has valuable anticancer bioactive compounds that could be considered in phytochemical-based cancer therapy programs.