Formulation, characterization and evaluation of anti-breast cancer activity of 2-carene nanoemulsion; in silico, in vitro and in vivo study

Natural phytocompounds extensively used in several therapeutic regimes, biomedical and pharmaceutical applications and their nanoparticles have become extremely essential in field of nanotechnology to treat various types of cancer. The main objective of this study demonstrates the antitumor activities of pure terpene compound 2-carene and its nanoemulsion against in vitro and in vivo breast cancer model. In silico and molecular dynamic simulation study was performed against breast cancer receptors to evaluate anticancer activity of 2-carene. Nanoemulsions were prepared by isolating monoterpenoid compound from Catharanthus roseus essential oil and anti-cancer effects of 2-carene mediated nanoemulsion were evaluated. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis explicated 2-carene was the active terpene compound and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed to confirm structural identification of this compound. Nanoemulsion was characterized by characteristic techniques of scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, size determination and dynamic light scattering. Cytotoxicity, antioxidant activity, apoptosis and histopathological examination were used to identify bioactive qualities of prepared nanoemulsion formulation. Effective cytotoxicity of nanoemulsion was observed 54.31% against MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines. Tumor features and apoptotic activity was also assessed and the results of study strongly revealed that bio-synthesized nanoemulsion show significant apoptotic and anti-tumor potential against DMBA induced breast cancer. The antioxidant enzymes and serum inflammatory markers were significantly improved by nanoemulsion treatment in cancer induced rat model. In histopathological evaluation, the nanoemulsion formulations markedly show signs of improvement in cancer induced tissues. Results demonstrated that 2-carene and its synthesized nanoemulsion exhibit remarkable anticancer potential against DMBA induced cancer.