Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Effects of Olive Leaf Extract Microcapsules on MCF-7 and A549 Cancer Cells

[Image: see text] Alginate microcapsules are a talented means for the delivery of broad curative biomacromolecules. In this study, we immobilized olive leaf extract (OLE) by calcium alginate (CA) and chitosan-coated CA (CCA) and characterized the OLE-loaded CA and CCA. The cytotoxic effect, the cell cycle arrest, and the apoptotic effect of OLE and its microcapsules were investigated against breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and lung carcinoma (A549). As a result, the loading capacity of OLE–CA and OLE–CCA was found to be 80 and 99%, respectively, in optimal conditions. Also, OLE–CA and OLE–CCA were characterized by unique FTIR peaks and morphological display relative to the empty CCA microcapsules. The cytotoxicity analysis showed that the IC(50) values of OLE–CA and OLE–CCA were determined to be 312 and 0.94 μg mL(–1) against A549, respectively, whereas these were found to be 865.4 and 425.5 μg mL(–1) for MCF-7 cells. On the other hand, the OLE microcapsules did not possess in any concentration of cytotoxic influence on the BEAS 2B healthy cell line. Also, the exposure of OLE–CCA to MCF-7 and A549 resulted in the arrest of more MCF-7 and A549 cells at the G0/G1 phase compared to the OLE. A549 and MCF-7 cells were predominantly found in the late apoptosis phase and necrosis phase, respectively. Optical microscopy images confirmed that OLE microcapsules were more effective against MCF-7 and A549 than free OLE. The present work suggested that the OLE microcapsules might be administered as nutrition supplements for cancer therapy.