In vivo assessment of DNA damage and protective effects of extracts from Miconia species using the comet assay and micronucleus test
Open Access
- 4 August 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Mutagenesis
- Vol. 23 (6), 501-507
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mutage/gen043
Abstract
The genus Miconia comprises ∼1000 species belonging to the Melastomataceae family. Several crude plant extracts from Miconia and their isolated compounds have shown biological activities, such as analgesic and anti-neoplastic action; however, no studies concerning their effects on DNA are available. The present study aimed to evaluate, in vivo, the genotoxic and mutagenic effects of four species of plants from Miconia genus using the comet assay and micronucleus test. Their possible protective effects were also evaluated in experiments associating the plant extracts with cyclophosphamide (CPA). The methanolic extracts of Miconia albicans, Miconia cabucu, Miconia rubiginosa, Miconia stenostachya and the chloroformic extract of M. albicans were investigated. For genotoxic and mutagenic evaluations, three concentrations were tested, 200, 400 and 540 mg/kg body weight (bw), based on the solubility limit of the extract in distilled water. For the protective effects, only the highest dose was evaluated against 40 mg/kg bw of CPA. Blood was removed from mice tails pre- (T0) and post-treatment (T1–30 h) for the micronucleus test and 24 h post-treatment for the comet assay. The Student's t-test was used to compare data obtained at T0 and T1, the analysis of variance–Tukey test was used to compare between groups in the micronucleus test and the Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn's test were used to compare different groups in the comet assay. All the extracts induced alterations in DNA migration (comet assay); however, no mutagenic effect was observed in the micronucleus assay. All extracts showed a protective effect against CPA in both assays. Our study showed that the use of crude extracts could be more advantageous than the use of isolated compounds. The interaction between phytochemicals in the extracts showed efficacy in reducing mutagenicity and improving the protective effects.This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- Role of Ellagic Acid against Cisplatin‐Induced Nephrotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in RatsBasic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 2006
- In VitroTrypanocidal Activity of Triterpenes fromMiconiaSpeciesPlanta Medica, 2003
- Phenolic Compounds from Miconia myriantha Inhibiting Candida Aspartic ProteasesJournal of Natural Products, 2001
- An alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay for environmental biomonitoring with native rodentsGenetics and Molecular Biology, 2000
- Antioxidants in teaCritical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 1997
- Cyclophosphamide: Review of its mutagenicity for an assessment of potential germ cell risksMutation Research, 1995
- Studies on the Migration of Micronucleated Erythrocytes from Bone Marrow to the Peripheral Blood in Irradiated Swiss MiceInternational Journal of Radiation Biology, 1993
- The micronucleus assay with mouse peripheral blood reticulocytes using acridine orange-coated slidesMutation Research Letters, 1990
- Antioxidants/antimutagens in foodCritical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 1990
- A simple technique for quantitation of low levels of DNA damage in individual cellsExperimental Cell Research, 1988