In Vitro antiproliferative potential of essential oil extract from Carica papaya L. seeds against cervical cancer

The essential oil's phytochemical composition was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), revealing benzyl isothiocyanate as the dominant compound (99.49%). Results demonstrated that the essential oil had a high cytotoxic effect, with an IC₅₀ value of 16.78 µg/mL in the MTT assay. Apoptosis analysis indicated a significant increase in early and late apoptotic HeLa cells (23.45%). Flow cytometry revealed a G2/M phase arrest, which impeded cell division. The oil also exhibited a stronger inhibition of cancer cell migration (38.7%) than methotrexate (45.9%). Additionally, the clonogenic assay revealed a drastic reduction in colony formation (0.004% surviving fraction, 0.25% plating efficiency). ELISA results showed a profound effect on apoptosis-related proteins, reducing BCL-2, MMP-2, and CDK1/cyclin B1 expression, supported by molecular docking studies comparing its efficacy to methotrexate (-5.52, -6.29, and -5.75 vs -5.49, -5.44, and 5.18 kcal mol^-, respectively). The findings suggest that <i>Carica papaya</i> seed essential oil may serve as a potential anticancer treatment for cervical cancer; however, further <i>in vivo</i> studies are required for validation in animal models.