LAURUS NOBILIS

Anticancer Research

L. nobilis is a culinary herb used either fresh or dried for both its flavor and fragrance(Kilic et al. 2004). Medicinally, it has been shown to have in vitro antibacterialeffects (Dadalioglu and Evrendilek 2004; Marzouki et al. 2009) and woundhealing properties on animal models (Nayak et al. 2006). The essential oil fractionof the fruit is also known for suppressing C32 amelanotic melanoma and ACHNrenal cancer cell growth through apoptotic mechanisms in vitro (Loizzo et al. 2007).in vitro studies demonstrated inhibition of cancer cell growth by processed driedleaf of L. nobilis extracts in HT-29, HCT-116, Caco-2, and SW-480 human cancercell lines, which were accompanied by variable levels of elevated apoptosis (Bennettet al. 2013). The leaf of L. nobilis also exerted moderate inhibition of cyclooxygenase2 and 5-lipoxygenase enzymatic activity. In addition, these extracts significantlydownregulated interferon-γ production in T helper type 1-stimulated whole bloodfrom healthy donors. Furthermore, size fractionation of the extracts revealed thatantiproliferative and proapoptotic activities were associated with low molecularweight, i.e., polyphenolics and essential oils.