Essential oil of lemon myrtle (Ba…osis in HepG2 cells.
🔬 Peer-reviewed
Essential oil of lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) induces S-phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in HepG2 cells.
Yun-Fen Wang, Yang Zheng, Yin-Yue Cha, Yang Feng, Shao-Xing Dai, Sanjun Zhao + 2 more
Journal of ethnopharmacology · 2023
Findings
Lemon myrtle essential oil showed cytotoxic activity against liver cancer cells in lab tests, with the strongest effect on HepG2 liver cancer cells (IC50: 40.90 μg/mL). The oil's main active component is citral (74.9% of the oil), which appears to trigger cancer cell death by stopping cell division and triggering apoptosis. However, this was tested in cells in a petri dish—not in humans or even animal models.
Design
Review
Evidence
Moderate
Journal
Journal of ethnopharmacology
Ingredients studied