Radioprotective and Antimutagenic Effects of Pycnanthus angolensis Warb Seed Extract against Damage Induced by X Rays.

Daniel Gyingiri Achel,Amparo Olivares,Miguel Alcaraz-Saura,Julián Castillo,Miguel Alcaraz

doi:10.3390/jcm9010006

Daniel Gyingiri Achel, Amparo Olivares + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9010006

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Abstract

Although different studies have demonstrated different applications of Pycnanthus angolensis extracts in traditional African and Asian medicine, its possible antimutagenic or genoprotective capacities have never been explored. We studied these capabilities of Pycnanthus angolensis seed extract (PASE) by means of the two micronucleus assays, determining the frequency of micronucleus (MN) yield in mouse bone marrow (in vivo) and in human lymphocytes blocked by cytochalasin B (in vitro). PASE exhibited a significant genoprotective capacity (p < 0.001) against X-rays with a protection factor of 35% in both in vivo and in vitro assays. Further, its radioprotective effects were determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability test in two cell lines: one being radiosensitive (i.e., human prostate epithelium (PNT2) cells) and the other being radioresistant (i.e., B16F10 melanoma cells). In the radiosensitive cells, PASE showed a protection factor of 35.5%, thus eliminating 43.8% of X-ray-induced cell death (p < 0.001) and a dose reduction factor of 2.5. In the radioresistant cells, a protection factor of 29% (p < 0.001) with a dose reduction factor of 4 was realized. PASE elicited a greater radioprotective capacity than the substances currently used in radiation oncology and, thus, could be developed as a nutraceutical radioprotectant for workers and patients exposed to ionizing radiation.

Highlights

Numerous studies have portrayed the varied medical applications of different extracts of Pycnanthus angolensis in traditional African and Asian medicine [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The composition of the extracts in the chromatograms was assessed by comparing their relative retention times and UV spectra, which are a function of their molecular structures, and subsequently confirmed by mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS)
Ionizing radiation produces in the vicinity of DNA and its environs a large number of different radicals such as OH, e− aq, and H [7], which are mostly produced by the radiolysis water even in the absence of molecular oxygen

Summary

Introduction

Numerous studies have portrayed the varied medical applications of different extracts of Pycnanthus angolensis in traditional African and Asian medicine [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Extracts of P. angolensis have been used as antibacterial [1,3] antiparasitic [4], anti-inflammatory and analgesic [1,3,4,5], and as antihemorrhagic agents [4]. References on its antimutagenic/antigenotoxic or radioprotective capacity is rare even though some authors suggest that its antioxidant potential could explain some of the applications described [2]. Our attention was drawn to P. angolensis because of the potential applications that may be derived from its suggested potent antioxidant and free radical scavenging capacities [2]. The ability of antioxidants to eliminate reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by oxidative stress during exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) is considered a protection mechanism against cellular damage induced by IR both in vitro and in vivo [7,8,9,10,11,12]

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