In the present study, we investigated whether α-bisabolol, a sesquiterpene alcohol present in essential oils derived from a variety of plants, has antitumor effects against pancreatic cancer. α-Bisabolol induced a decrease in cell proliferation and viability in pancreatic cancer cell lines (KLM1, KP4, Panc1, MIA Paca2), but not in pancreatic epithelial cells (ACBRI515). α-Bisabolol treatment induced apoptosis and suppressed Akt activation in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Furthermore, α-bisabolol treatment induced the overexpression of early growth response-1 (EGR1), whereas EGR1 siRNA decreased the α-bisabolol-induced cell death of KLM1 cells. Tumor growth in both subcutaneous and peritoneal xenograft nude mouse models was significantly inhibited by intragastric administration of 1000 mg/kg of α-bisabolol, once a week for three weeks. The results indicate that α-bisabolol could be a novel therapeutic option for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
© 2011 Japanese Cancer Association.