Table 2.
Anticarcinogenic effects of basil extracts in laboratory in vitro studies.
| Paper | Type of Study and Level of Evidence | Compound/Extract | Sample | Posology/Treatment | Main Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gajendiran et al. [28] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum basilicum (basil seeds) extracted in petroleum ether and methanol separately | Human osteosarcoma cell line (MG63) | Ocimum basilicum seed extraction (12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200 µg/m) | Increased cell line deterioration and death with the increase in concentration of Ocimum basilicum seed extract. |
| Alkhateeb et al. [29] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum basilicum (dark purple blossoms of basil) aqueous extract at low temperature (0 °C) | Human MCF7 breast cancer cell line | Ocimum basilicum blossoms aqueous extract (0, 50, 150, and 250 μg/mL for 24 and 48 h) | Greater anticancer and antioxidant activities of Ocimum basilicum blossoms aqueous extract at low temperature in comparison to boiled water solvent (high temperature) and alcoholic extracts. |
| Aburjai et al. [30] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum basilicum “Cinnamon” leaves’ essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation | Three different cancer cell lines: MDA–MB–231 (triple-negative breast cancer cell line), MCF7 (breast cancer), and U–87 MG (glioblastoma) | Weight by weight (w/w%) of the dry Ocimum basilicum “Cinnamon” leaves was 0.50 % (w/w) | The Ocimum basilicum essential oils linalool, eugenol, and eucalyptol showed effective anticancer activity against several types of cancer cells. |
| Indrayudha and Hapsari [31] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Combination of Cinnamomum burmannii with Ocimum tenuiflorum ethanolic extract | T47D cancer cells | Cinnamomum burmannii ethanolic extract (500 µg/mL) + Ocimum tenuiflorum ethanolic extract (500 and 50 µg/mL) | Combined Cinnamomum and Ocimum ethanolic extracts produced a cooperative impact against T47D cancer cells compared to each extract alone. |
| Doguer et al. [32] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Purple basil (PB) dried leaves’ aqueous extract added to sirkencubin syrup (SC) | Human colon carcinoma cells (Caco-2) | Various concentrations (15–40 µL) of purple basil sirkencubin) in 100 µL of fresh medium (total of 150–400 μL/mL) | Half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of SC and PBS were 288.1 and 239.8, respectively. PBS showed better results in terms of anticancer activity against (Caco-2). |
| Manikandan et al. [33] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum americanum aqueous leaf extract used to fabricate silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) | A549 lung cancer cells | Mixture of 5 g of leaf powder and 50 mL of sterile distilled water; 2 mL of the mixture treated with 100 mL of 1 mM AgNO3 solution | AgNPs fabricated with Ocimum americanum aqueous leaf extract, possessed strong cytotoxic anticancer activity against the A549 lung cancer cell line by inducing apoptosis. |
| Elansary & Mahmoud [34] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum basilicum (purple ruffle), O. basilicum (dark opal), O. basilicum. (Genovese), O. basilicum (anise), O. basilicum (bush green), and O. basilicum L. (OBL) |
Line HeLa, MCF–7, Jurkat, HT–29, T24, MIA PaCa-2 cancer cells and one normal human cell line HEK–293 | Different concentrations of the six international basil cultivars | Compounds present in O. basilicum species—such as rosmarinic acid, chicoric acid, and caftaric acid—varied in their anticancer activities. OBL displayed the highest antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities compared to others. |
| Mahmoud [27] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum basilicum (basil estragole chemotype) + fresh Tagetes minuta flowers (marigold) (100 g of each) were hydrodistilled | Human promyelocytic leukemia cell lines (HL–60 and NB4) and experimental animal model cancer cells (Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells, EACC). | Several volumes of marigold and basil essential oils finalized to 25, 50, 75, 100, and 200 µg/mL concentrations | Dead cells increased with increasing concentrations of both estragole and marigold. Basil estragole was more effective on HL–60 than NB4 cell lines. Marigold was more effective on NB4 than HL–60 cell lines. The anticancer activity of marigold was higher than that of estragole against EACC. |
| Hanachi et al. [35] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum basilicum and Impatiens walleriana leaves extracts | Human gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) and human ovarian carcinoma (SKOV–3) cancer cell lines | 0.5 mg/mL to 5 mg/mL concentrations | Toxicity of O. basilicum on SKOV3 cell lines was higher compared to I. walleriana, while I. walleriana was more toxic towards AGS compared to O. basilicum. The cytotoxic effect may be attributed to the anthocyanin and flavonoid derivatives present in the extracts. |
| Sharma et al. [36] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Extraction of Ocimum basilicum L. (O. tenuiflorum) orientin and its analogue | Human liver cancer cell line HepG2 | 100 μg/mL (202.389 μM) concentration for 96 h | Cell death was only 41%, thereby indicating its ineffectiveness (in purified form) as an anticarcinogenic agent, with low cytotoxicity activity on the HepG2 liver cancer cell line. |
| Zarlaha et al. [37] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum basilicum ethanolic extract and essential oil | Human cervix adenocarcinoma HeLa cells, human melanoma FemX cells, human chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 cells, and human ovarian SKOV3 cells | Ranging from 12.5 to 200 μg/mL for 72 h (200, 100, 50, 25, and 12.5 μM) | The phytochemicals rosmarinic and caffeic acids, along with the essential oils eugenol, isoeugenol, and linalool, showed significant anticancer activity on the four cell lines—especially the SKOV3 cell line. |
| Abbasi et al. [38] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum basilicum (purple basil) callus extract used to produce silver nanoparticles (BC–AgNPs), and silver nanoparticles using anthocyanin extract derived from the same plant (AE–AgNPs) | HepG2 liver carcinoma cells | AgNO3 (1 mM) was added to BC (15 g callus) and AE (anthocyanin) extracts at different ratios (1:1, 1:2, 1:5, and 1:10) | AE–AgNPs showed significant anticancer activity against the HepG2 cell line (75% mortality at 200 µg/mL) compared to BC–AgNPs (approximately 27% mortality at 200 µg/mL). |
| Złotek et al. [39] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum basilicum (lettuce leaf basil) ethanolic extracts of lyophilized basil leaves | Human squamous carcinoma cell line SCC–15 (ATCC CRL1623) | Different concentrations of the extract (0.125, 0.250, 0.500, and 1.000 mg/mL) | Elicitation of basil with arachidonic acid induced overproduction of phenolic compounds that resulted in a dose-dependent decline in cell metabolism, with greater anticancer activity at higher concentrations. |
| Alanazi [40] | Laboratory study (level 6) |
Ocimum spp. basil leaves and Achillea spp. extract | Human lung carcinoma cell line (A549), human prostate cancer cell line (PC3), and cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) | Basil extract concentrations (333, 166.5, and 83.3 mg/mL) for A549 and PC-3 cells, and lower concentrations (41.6, 20.8, and 10.4 mg/mL) for HeLa cells. | Basil extract worked significantly against HeLa cells, but less so against PC–3 cells. Achillea extract worked significantly against the PC–3 cell line. |