Anti-cancer research from star anise oil

- The research team of Viet Bac High School, Dong Kinh Ward, has researched and discovered that star anise essential oil in tree bark contains new derivatives that have anti-cancer properties.

Research team members used steam distillation method to distill star anise essential oil.

Star anise is the main crop of Lang Son province, with high economic value. Star anise has long been commonly used in cuisine and traditional medicine in China, Vietnam, India... Star anise essential oil is used by people as an antiseptic, digestive aid, lactation aid, pain reliever, stomach spasm reducer... Many recent studies have shown that star anise essential oil contains active ingredients with antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial properties, and is the raw material for synthesizing Oseltamivir to make flu medicine.

Essential oils extracted from the stems and branches of star anise are rich in anethol, a compound with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer biological activities. However, the anti-cancer activity of anethol is limited, requiring metabolic research and structural improvement to improve its effectiveness. Therefore, the research team including teacher Dao Thi Bach Diep, Chemistry teacher, Viet Bac High School and student Hoang Tran Bach Diep, class 11A1 (school year 2024 - 2025) have implemented a project to synthesize and evaluate the anti-cancer activity of new derivatives from anethol in star anise essential oil collected in Lang Son province.

Hoang Tran Bach Diep, a member of the research team, said: The group's research object is star anise essential oil extracted from stems, harvested in Lang Son province. After harvesting, the star anise stems are cut into small pieces and distilled using the steam distillation method to collect the essential oil. This is the optimal method to separate the water-insoluble essential oil components from the star anise stems and branches, ensuring the integrity of the volatile compounds. After collecting the star anise essential oil, the team conducted an analysis to determine the chemical composition.

Through analysis, it was shown that the essential oil from star anise stems contained 82.24% trans-anethol; 10.52% Estragole; 2.09% Linalool and 0.55% 4-methoxy Benzaldehyde. In particular, the content of cis-anethol toxin in star anise stem essential oil was only 0.78%, lower than the essential oil extracted from star anise leaves and fruits. This result shows that star anise stems are a valuable, safe source of raw materials with great potential in pharmaceutical processing as well as biotechnology.

The research team coordinated and conducted anti-cancer cell activity tests at the Laboratory of Experimental Biology, Institute of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (Cau Giay, Hanoi). The results showed that the compound TDH-A5 synthesized from trans-anethol inhibited the growth of liver cancer cells (Hep - G2) with an IC₅₀ value of 98.32 µg/mL. This result opens up a new direction in exploiting natural active ingredients from star anise to develop pharmaceuticals.

Ms. Dao Thi Bach Diep said: The novelty of the solution is the first analysis and determination of the chemical composition of star anise essential oil extracted from the stem, a part that has received little attention before. The research has successfully synthesized the derivative TDH-A5 from trans-anethol (TDH-V1). This compound is not yet in the popular chemical database, demonstrating its originality and development potential. This is the basis for further research on biological mechanisms and applications in cancer treatment.

Anethol derivatives can be developed into raw materials for anti-cancer drugs, functional foods, or biological cosmetics, contributing to increasing the value of star anise, while promoting start-up projects in the agricultural - pharmaceutical sector, creating more economic value and jobs for people in the province.

With the results obtained by the research team, the project Synthesis and evaluation of anti-cancer activity of new derivatives from anethole in star anise essential oil harvested in Lang Son province won an encouragement prize (no first or second prize) at the 8th Lang Son Provincial Technical Innovation Contest for the 2024-2025 school year. It is believed that the results of the research team will open up many new directions for development in the field of medicine and pharmacy as well as enhance the value of star anise in Lang Son province.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/nhom-hoc-sinh-va-giao-vien-thpt-viet-bac-nghien-cuu-hoat-tinh-khang-ung-thu-tu-tinh-dau-hoi-5059655.html