Anticancer Activity of Mackerel Scad (Decapterus macarellus) Fish Oil on Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines

The rising global burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) and adverse side effects of chemotherapy necessitate safer therapies leveraging marine bioactive compounds. Mackerel scad (Decapterus macarellus) is a marine fish that contains fatty acids, which can be potentially used as an anticancer agents. This study aims to assess the cytotoxicity of Mackerel scad's skin oil and its effect on the cell cycle and apoptosis of the human colon carcinoma cell line (WiDr). The sample concentrations for cytotoxicity test were ranged from 4,000-31.25 µg/mL and doxorubicin (from 25 to 0.78 µg/mL) as a positive control. The cytotoxicity test was carried out using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to analyze the composition of fatty acids. Flow cytometry was used to test the ability to stop the cell cycle and induce apoptosis. Results showed a significant (p<0.05) cytotoxic effect of mackerel scad skin oil against WiDr cells (IC50=958.04 μg/mL) and low toxicity against normal Vero cells. The fish oil-induced cell cycle termination in the G0/G1 phase triggered early apoptosis in WiDr cells. GC-MS analysis detected polyunsaturated fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (9.59), docosahexaenoic acid (10.70), and 9-octadecenoic acid (9.29), including beneficial saturated fatty acids such as hexadecenoic acid (20.10). These fatty acids play a role in cell cycle cessation and apoptosis through specific cellular mechanisms. This study demonstrated mackerel scad skin oil as a potential anticancer candidate that can be further developed as a supplement inhibiting cancer growth. © 2025 Agnesia. and © 2025 the authors.