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EUGENOL: IN VITRO CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CYTOTOXIC PROFILE AT THE LEVEL OF COLORECTAL CARCINOMA CELLS

ROBERT COSMIN RACEA 1,2#, PETRU EUGEN MERGHES 3#, DANIELA GURGUS 4*, IOANA MACASOI 5,6, LAURA CRISTINA RUSU 1,2, DOINA CHIORAN 1, STEFANIA DINU 1,7, DANIEL BREBAN-SCHWARZKOPF 4, CAMELIA SZUHANEK 1, MIRCEA RIVIS 1

1Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara, 9 Revolutiei 1989 Avenue, 300070, Timișoara, Romania
2Multidisciplinary Center for Research, Evaluation, Diagnosis and Therapies in Oral Medicine, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041 Timișoara, Romania
3Department of Physical Education and Sport, "King Mihai I" University of Life Sciences from Timișoara, 119 Aradului road, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
4Faculty of Medicine, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041, Timișoara, Romania
5Faculty of Pharmacy, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041, Timișoara, Romania
6Research Centre for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluations, Faculty of Pharmacy, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041, Timișoara, Romania
7Paediatric Dentistry Research Centre, Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara, 9 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041, Timișoara, Romania

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In the present study, the main objective was to evaluate the cytotoxic potential of eugenol on colorectal carcinoma cells - HCT-116, as well as on healthy human keratinocytes - HaCaT. Eugenol has been evaluated for its impact on cell viability, morphology, nuclei, and actin filament structure and organization. According to the findings of this study, eugenol is not associated with a significant decrease in cell viability at the level of keratinocytes. Aside from that, no significant morphological changes were observed, and the nuclei and actin filaments were organized similarly to those of control cells. Conversely, in the case of tumour cells, eugenol reduced their viability in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the concentration of 0.5 mM induced morphological changes at the level of actin filaments and nuclei characteristic of apoptosis (rounding of cells, condensation of chromatin, reorganization of actin filaments). These results provide evidence for the possibility of eugenol being an effective anti-tumour agent. However, it is necessary to conduct further research in order to elucidate the biological mechanisms involved.