The germination processes of Fabaceae seeds are well studied based on physiological parameters. However, in many cases, especially in wild seeds, there is a predominance of dormancy processes that must be reversed to finally produce germination, generally applying scarification processes. In the anatomical studies of seeds, a certain conformation of the structure of the cover is appreciated, with a predominance of sclerenchymatic tissues and waxy covers that are the cause of the difficulty of the entry of water to produce the imbibition of the seed. Mechanical or chemical scarifications are usually recommended to produce effective scarification. The characterization of the anatomical details of the seed coat allows us to predict the appropriate scarification technique with which optimal seed germination can be obtained.
It has been proposed that oxidative stress is a pathogenic mechanism to induce cytotoxicity and to cause cardiovascular and neuronal diseases. At present, natural compounds such as plant extracts have been used to reduce the cytotoxic effects produced by agents that induce oxidative stress. Our study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and cytoprotective capacity of Desmodium tortuosum (D. tortuosum) extract in the co- and pre-treatment in EA.hy926 and SH-SY5Y cell lines subjected to oxidative stress induced by tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BOOH). Cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO), caspase 3/7 activity, reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and molecular expression of oxidative stress biomarkers (SOD2, NRF2 and NFκB1) and cell death (APAF1, BAX, Caspase3) were all evaluated. It was observed that the D. tortuosum extract, in a dose-dependent manner, was able to reduce the oxidative and cytotoxicity effects induced by t-BOOH, even normalized to a dose of 200 µg/mL, which would be due to the high content of phenolic compounds mainly phenolic acids, flavonoids, carotenoids and other antioxidant compounds. Finally, these results are indicators that the extract of D. tortuosum could be a natural alternative against the cytotoxic exposure to stressful and cytotoxic chemical agents.
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