Abstract
The genotoxic effect of the Austroplenckia populnea chloroform fraction from barkwood extract was tested in vivo on peripheral blood cells of Swiss mice with the comet assay (SCGE), and the clastogenic effect was investigated on peripheral blood cells of Swiss mice and bone marrow cells of Wistar rats, with the micronucleus and chromosome aberrations tests. The animals were treated by gavage with 3 concentrations of the extract: 300, 600 and 900 mg.kg-1. Peripheral blood cells of Swiss mice were collected 4 and 24 hours after the treatment to the SCGE assay and 48 and 72 hours to the micronucleus test. Bone marrow cells of Wistar rats were collected 24 hours after the treatment to the micronucleus and chromosome aberration tests. The results showed that the A. populnea chloroform fraction induced an increase in the average number of DNA damage in peripheral blood cells at the three concentrations tested, but this increase was not statistically significant. In the micronucleus and chromosome aberrations test, no significant increase was observed in the mean number of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPCE) of Swiss mice or MNPCE or chromosome aberrations for the rat bone marrow cells, for any of the tested doses. Our findings enable us to conclude that by the comet assay, A. populnea chloroform fraction from barkwood extract showed no genotoxic effects, and by the micronucleus and chromosome aberration tests, the extract fraction showed no clastogenic/aneugenic effects on the rodent cells tested.
Highlights
There is considerable interest in determining the risks that plant extracts may pose to health, since many of these extracts contain compounds known to cause diseases or even death to animals and humans by acting as natural mutagens and carcinogens (Araújo et al, 1999; Burim et al, 1999; Chacon et al, 2002; Espósito et al, 2005, Maistro et al, 2005).Austroplenckia populnea (Reiss) Lundell is a plant of the Brazilian Cerrado or Savannah region, which belongs to the Celastraceae family
The comet assay was used as an additional comparison method with micronucleus and chromosome aberration assays and showed a slight increase in total damaged cells and the scores in animal groups treated with the A. populnea chloroform fraction, but the results did not differ significantly from the negative control group, indicating no genotoxic effects of this extract fraction
It was demonstrated that three high doses of A. populnea chloroform fraction from crude barkwood extract showed no increase in the mean number of micronucleated erythrocytes in the peripheral blood of mice, and the bone marrow of rats, and no chromosomal aberrations in the bone marrow cells of Wistar rats
Summary
There is considerable interest in determining the risks that plant extracts may pose to health, since many of these extracts contain compounds known to cause diseases or even death to animals and humans by acting as natural mutagens and carcinogens (Araújo et al, 1999; Burim et al, 1999; Chacon et al, 2002; Espósito et al, 2005, Maistro et al, 2005). The phytochemical study of the A. populnea crude barkwood extract resulted in isolation and/or identification of steroids (stigmasterol, campesterol, β-sitosterol) and triterpenes (populnoic acid, methyl populnonate, epitaraxerol, β-amirine, lupeol acetate, β-friedalanol and friedelin) (Andrade, 2005). These mixed compounds showed anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antiulcer activities, but their hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions showed a decrease in these activities (Andrade, 2005). Zanoni et al (2005) evaluated, for the first time, the mutagenic potential of A. populnea extract and observed that crude hydroalcoholic barkwood extract showed a slight but statistical significant clastogenic effect in the bone marrow cells of Wistar rats. In this report we determined the mutagenic potential of the A. populnea chloroform fraction from crude barkwood extract in peripheral blood and bone marrow cells in vivo in rodents, using the Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE), micronucleus and chromosome aberration tests
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