DNA damage preventive activity of wild edible plants

Abstract

Wild edible plants are rich in antioxidant and various parts of this plant were used extensively in traditional and folklore medicine to cure various human ailments. The present study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and hydrogen peroxide induced DNA damage protection activity of five wild edible plants e.g. Phyllostachys mannii, Persicaria chinensis, Musa cheesmanii, Musa flaviflora, and Phlogacanthus thyrsiformis to provide scientific basis for traditional usage of this plant. The studied plants were found to be rich in total phenolics, flavonols, especially quercetin (3983.22±2.33 µg/100 mg dry extract) and kaempferol (4361.14±1.67 µg/100 mg dry extract) in the water extract of P. thrysiformis and p-coumaric acid (262.61±0.67 µg/100 mg dry extract), ferulic acid (473.12±1.00 µg/100 mg dry extract) in the water extract of P. chinensis. Water extracts of P. thrysiformis and P. chinensis both had better inhibition percentages DNA damage (32.02% and 25.12% respectively) as compared to the rest of the tested extracts, and significantly suppressed oxidative damage to lymphocyte DNA. P-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol are important for preventing peroxidation and oxidative damage to DNA, and extracts from the leaves of P. thrysiformis and P. chinensis may have excellent potential as functional ingredients, representing potential sources of natural antioxidants and justifying their therapeutic application for free-radical-induced diseases.