Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities and Anticancer Effects of Fennel Seeds (Foeniculum vulgare) Against Lung Cancer Cells

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Natural anti-bacterial materials have received particular attention due to their higher food protection. The recent research was performed to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer impacts of methanolic extract of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seeds. To this aim, the methanolic extract was made following preparation of the Fennel seeds. The chemical compounds of the extract was determined using Gas–Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. To evaluate the antioxidant impact of the methanolic extract of fennel, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl technique was applied for 7 concentrations of 200, 100, 50, 25, 22.5, 6.25 and 3 ppm. The antimicrobial impacts of the extract were evaluated using the inhibition zones process on isolates, including Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumonia, Klebsiella, pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. In order to assess the anticancer activity of the extract in A549 cell line (Human lung cancer cell line), MTT assay (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay) was done. According to the obtained findings, an increase in the antioxidant activity of the Fennel extract was observed with increasing the concentration. Moreover, S. pyogenes and P. aeruginosa strains had the most and least level of tolerance to the methanolic extract of Fennel, respectively. On the other hand, anticancer activity of the extract was confirmed against A549 cancer cells. According to our findings, the methanolic extract has antibacterial, antioxidant and anticancer effects. Therefore, it can be applied to protect food from oxidative processes and microorganisms, causing contamination and intoxication. Moreover, it can be applied as a therapeutic target of cancer in the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Tang SY, Halliwell B (2010) Medicinal plants and antioxidants: What do we learn from cell culture and Caenorhabditis elegans studies? Biochem Biophys Res Commun 394(1):1–5

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Ghasemi Pirbalouti A (2009) Iranian medicinal and aromatic plants. Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord

    Google Scholar 

  3. Abe R, Ohtani K (2013) An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants and traditional therapies on Batan Island, the Philippines. J Ethnopharmacol 145(2):554–565

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Bona E, Lingua G, Todeschini V (2016) Effect of bioinoculants on the quality of crops. In: Bioformulations: for sustainable agriculture. Springer, New Delhi, pp 93–124

  5. Agarwal R, Gupta SK, Agrawal SS, Srivastava S, Saxena R (2008) Oculohypotensive effects of Foeniculum vulgare in experimental models of glaucoma. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 52(1):77–83

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Roby MHH, Sarhan MA, Selim KA-H, Khalel KI (2013) Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil and extracts of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare L.) and chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.). Ind Crops Prod 44:437–445

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Choi E-M, Hwang J-K (2004) Antiinflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant activities of the fruit of Foeniculum vulgare. Fitoterapia 75(6):557–565

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Manonmani R, Khadir VA (2011) Antibacterial screening on Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Int J Pharm Bio Sci 2(4):390–394

    Google Scholar 

  9. Mohsenzadeh M (2007) Evaluation of antibacterial activity of selected Iranian essential oils against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in nutrient broth medium. Pak J Biol Sci 10(20):3693–3697

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Lo Cantore P, Iacobellis NS, De Marco A, Capasso F, Senatore F (2004) Antibacterial activity of Coriandrum sativum L. and Foeniculum vulgare Miller var. vulgare (Miller) essential oils. J Agric Food Chem 52(26):7862–7866

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Soylu S, Soylu E, Evrendilek G (2009) Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils of bitter fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill. var. vulgare) and dill (Anethum graveolens L.) against the growth of food-borne and seed-borne pathogenic bacteria. Ital J Food Sci 21(3):347–355

  12. Ruberto G, Baratta MT, Deans SG, Dorman HD (2000) Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Foeniculum vulgare and Crithmum maritimum essential oils. Planta Med 66(08):687–693

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. El Ouariachi E, Lahhit N, Bouyanzer A, Hammouti B, Paolini J, Majidi L, Desjobert J, Costa J (2014) Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of essential oils and solvent extracts of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. from Morocco. J Chem Pharm Res 6(4):743–748

    Google Scholar 

  14. Mohamad RH, El-Bastawesy AM, Abdel-Monem MG, Noor AM, Al-Mehdar HAR, Sharawy SM, El-Merzabani MM (2011) Antioxidant and anticarcinogenic effects of methanolic extract and volatile oil of fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare). J Med Food 14(9):986–1001

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Shahat AA, Ibrahim AY, Hendawy SF, Omer EA, Hammouda FM, Abdel-Rahman FH, Saleh MA (2011) Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of essential oils from organically cultivated fennel cultivars. Molecules 16(2):1366–1377

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Ghanem I, Audeh A, Alnaser AA, Tayoub G (2013) Chemical constituents and insecticidal activity of the essential oil from fruits of Foeniculum vulgare Miller on larvae of Khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium Everts). Herba Polonica 59(4):86–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Tognolini M, Ballabeni V, Bertoni S, Bruni R, Impicciatore M, Barocelli E (2007) Protective effect of Foeniculum vulgare essential oil and anethole in an experimental model of thrombosis. Pharmacol Res 56(3):254–260

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Rather MA, Dar BA, Sofi SN, Bhat BA, Qurishi MA (2016) Foeniculum vulgare: a comprehensive review of its traditional use, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and safety. Arab J Chem 9:S1574–S1583

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Villarini M, Pagiotti R, Dominici L, Fatigoni C, Vannini S, Levorato S, Moretti M (2014) Investigation of the cytotoxic, genotoxic, and apoptosis-inducing effects of estragole isolated from fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). J Nat Prod 77(4):773–778

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Bhardwaj P, Alok U, Khanna A (2013) In vitro cytotoxicity of essential oils: A review. Int J Res Pharm Chem 3(3):675–681

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Heydarzade A, Moravvej G (2012) Contact toxicity and persistence of essential oils from Foeniculum vulgare, Teucrium polium and Satureja hortensis against Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabricius)(Coleoptera: Bruchidae) adults. Turk J Entomol 36(4):507–518

    Google Scholar 

  22. Zidorn C, Jöhrer K, Ganzera M, Schubert B, Sigmund EM, Mader J, Greil R, Ellmerer EP, Stuppner H (2005) Polyacetylenes from the Apiaceae vegetables carrot, celery, fennel, parsley, and parsnip and their cytotoxic activities. J Agric Food Chem 53(7):2518–2523

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Ebrahimi N, Amirmahani F, Sadeghi B, Ghanaatian M (2021) Trichoderma longibrachiatum derived metabolite as a potential source of anti-breast-cancer agent. Biologia 76(5):1595–1601

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Liyana-Pathirana CM, Shahidi F (2005) Antioxidant activity of commercial soft and hard wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as affected by gastric pH conditions. J Agric Food Chem 53(7):2433–2440

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Damjanović B, Lepojević Ž, Živković V, Tolić A (2005) Extraction of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) seeds with supercritical CO2: comparison with hydrodistillation. Food Chem 92(1):143–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Križman M, Baričevič D, Prošek M (2006) Fast quantitative determination of volatile constituents in fennel by headspace-gas chromatography. Anal Chim Acta 557(1–2):267–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Anwar F, Ali M, Hussain AI, Shahid M (2009) Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil and extracts of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) seeds from Pakistan. Flavour Fragr J 24(4):170–176

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Oktay M, Gülçin İ, Küfrevioğlu Öİ (2003) Determination of in vitro antioxidant activity of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seed extracts. LWT-Food Sci Technol 36(2):263–271

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Gulfraz M, Mehmood S, Minhas N, Jabeen N, Kausar R, Jabeen K, Arshad G (2008) Composition and antimicrobial properties of essential oil of Foeniculum vulgare. Afr J Biotechnol 7(24):4364–4368

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Dana Gene Pajoohan Karmania Company, Kerman, Iran.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Member of Iran High-Tech Laboratory Network, Dana Gene Pajoohan Karmania Company, Kerman, Iran

    Roshanak Kaveh, Farzane Amirmahani & Marzieh Danaei

  2. Department of Microbiology, Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, Iran

    Mohsen Naghmachi

  3. Department of Microbiology, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran

    Mohammad Mehdi Motaghi

Authors
  1. Roshanak Kaveh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mohsen Naghmachi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mohammad Mehdi Motaghi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Farzane Amirmahani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Marzieh Danaei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marzieh Danaei.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Significance statement The methanolic extract of Fennel has antibacterial, antioxidant and anticancer effects. Therefore, it can be applied to protect food from oxidative processes and microorganisms, causing contamination and intoxication. Moreover, it can be applied as a therapeutic target of cancer in the future.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (PDF 190 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kaveh, R., Naghmachi, M., Motaghi, M.M. et al. Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities and Anticancer Effects of Fennel Seeds (Foeniculum vulgare) Against Lung Cancer Cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 93, 311–316 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-022-01390-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-022-01390-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation