Effects of Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. and Bauhinia candicans Benth infusions on onion root-tip and rat bone-marrow cells

Abstract

Medicinal plants are widely used to treat various diseases, and in Brazil the plants Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. and Bauhinia candicans Benth are commonly used in popular medicine. However, there are a large number of compounds in plants which can produce alterations in genetic material, and this study was conducted to investigate any possible mutagenic and cytotoxic effects that M. ilicifolia and B. candicans infusions may have on the cell cycle and chromosomes. Infusions were prepared with in natura leaves to give two concentrations of infusions, one at the concentration normally used by the population in general and the other at 10 times this value (i.e. 3.5 and 35 mg/mL for M. ilicifolia and 0.465 and 4.65 mg/mL for B. candicans). Onion (Allium cepa L.) root-tip cells (RTC) and Wistar rat bone-marrow cells (BMC) were used as test systems in in vivo assays. The M. ilicifolia infusions at both concentrations, and the B. candicans infusion at the lower concentration, had no statistically significant depressive mitotic effect on RTC. A statistically significant depressive mitotic effect on RTC was found with the more concentrated (4.65 mg/mL) B. candicans infusion as compared with a negative control. In BMC, infusions of B. candicans and M. ilicifolia produced no statistically significant increase in the number of chromosome alterations or rates of cell division as compared to controls. The significance of these findings are discussed in the light of the use of these plants as therapeutic agents.

Bioindicator of Genotoxicity: The Allium cepa Test

“…Vincentini et al (2001) reported that the Allium cepa test system is well accepted for the analysis of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity because the roots are in direct contact with the tested substance, allowing evaluation of different concentrations and times. The results by Camparoto et al (2002) were similar when estimating the effects of infusions of Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. and Bauhinia candicans Benth with the test of Allium cepa and bone marrow cells of Wistar rats.…”

“…The observation of cells in interphase and cell division is used as an indicator of adequate proliferation of the cells, which can be measured through the Allium cepa test system. The studies by various authors, such as Vicentini et al (2001) and Camparoto et al (2002) were performed with the Allium cepa test to test the genotoxicity of complex mixtures, in reality known as teas or extracts. The evaluation of the genotoxic effects of the plant extracts has been studied by Chauan et al (1999), who indicated the sensitivity of the A. cepa system and correlated it with the mammal test system, validating its use as an alternative test for monitoring the potential genotoxicity of environmental chemicals and pesticides.…”

Assessment of the antiproliferative and antigenotoxic activity and phytochemical screening of aqueous extracts of Sambucus australis Cham. & Schltdl. (ADOXACEAE)

“…It is a fast and low-cost method that makes it possible to evaluate chromosomal damage and mitotic cycle perturbations, because the onion shows large chromosomes in reduced number (2n=16) (Fiskesjö 1985) and it is highly sensitive to clastogenic agents (Leme and MarinMorales 2008). Moreover, the Allium cepa test has been corroborated by several researchers who carried it out together with in vitro testing using rat bone marrow cells and/or human lymphocytes obtaining similar results (Camparoto et al 2002, Teixeira et al 2003. A study on the cytogenetic effect of Arum maculatum extract on the bone marrow cells of mice, conducted by Modallal et al (2008), found similar results to those obtained by Kabarity and Malallah (1980) with khat extract who used Allium cepa root tips.…”

Atividade antiproliferativa e mutagênica dos extratos aquosos de Baccharis trimera (Less.) A. P. de Candolle e Baccharis articulata (Lam.) Pers. (Asteraceae) sobre o sistema teste de Allium cepa

“…O método da aberração cromossômica em raízes de Allium é validado pelo Programa Internacional de Segurança Química (IPCS, WHO) e o Programa Ambiental das Nações Unidas (UNEP) (Cabrera & Rodriguez, 1999;Silva et al, 2004). Além disso, estudos utilizando esse sistema teste juntamente com o de mamíferos têm sido realizados, demonstrando que os resultados obtidos são similares (Teixeira et al, 2003;Camparoto et al, 2002;Vicentini et al, 2001).…”