Abstract:

This study focused on citral which is the main component of essential oils such as Litsea cubeba oil and lemongrass oil, and explored a experimental approach of MTT assay in the selection of antitumor essential oils. It compared the effects of different wavelengths on absorbance, taking citral as experimental drug and non-volatile adriamycin (ADM) as control, investigated their volatility and diffusibility according to morphological changes of human K562 cells, and explored the effect of stockage temperature and time on the repetition of MTT assay. It was found that the results followed the same trend at different detection wavelengths as 492 nm, 570 nm and 630 nm. The volatility and diffusibility affect both control and citral treated wells, and make the well that adjoined high concentration well show higher cell toxicity than its actual value. The results also proved the low temperature stockage of volatile essential oils to be not only advisable but also a key point for good experimental repetitions.

Key words: antitumor essential oils, volatility and diffusibility, MTT assay