EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF THE INFUSION OF Ocimum selloi LEAVES USING THE Allium cepa MODEL

Abstract

Ocimum selloi is a plant used in traditional medicine as a tea; however, no studies have reported the biological activity of the aqueous extract of this plant. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and mutagenicity of two concentrations of an aqueous extract prepared by infusion of leaves from O. selloi using the Allium cepa model. The O. selloi infusion contained 107.1 ± 1.27 mg GAE g-1. In the A. cepa test, the concentration of the extract influenced the germination index; for 1.0 mg mL-1, it was 60.78% and for 5.0 mg mL-1, it was 51.14%. The evaluation of root development also showed differences between the two concentrations and the negative control, and differences in mitotic index were observed between the concentrations and the negative control; the concentration of 1.0 mg mL-1 showed an index of 4.1%, and for 5.0 mg mL-1 it was 3.7%. An index of chromosomal changes of 0.1% was observed for a concentration of 5.0 mg mL-1. The A. cepa test therefore showed that the studied concentrations did not cause deformations in cells, cell death or mutagenic alterations.