A comparative study of the modulatory effects of (−)-cubebin on the mutagenicity/recombinogenicity induced by different chemical agents

Abstract

(-)-Cubebin (CUB) is a lignan isolated from dry seeds of Piper cubeba. We aimed to assess its genotoxic potential and influence on chromosomal damage (frequency of micronuclei - MN) induced by doxorubicin (DXR) in V79 cells and by urethane (URE) in somatic Drosophila melanogaster cells. Our findings indicate an absence of a CUB-mediated genotoxic effect at the concentrations tested. The results also revealed that CUB significantly reduced the frequency of MN induced by DXR, with a mean reduction of 63.88%. In a previous study, our research group demonstrated an absence of CUB-mediated mutagenic effects through the wing Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test (SMART) in Drosophila. In the present study, we used the standard and high bioactivation versions of the SMART to estimate the antigenotoxic effects of CUB associated with URE. At lower concentrations, the recombination level decreased, but at the highest concentration, the recombination level increased. Our data and previous studies suggest that CUB may act as a free radical scavenger at low concentrations, a pro-oxidant at higher concentrations when it interacts with the enzymatic system that catalyzes the metabolic detoxification of DXR or URE, and/or an inducer of recombinational DNA repair.

Evaluation of the Genotoxic and Antigenotoxic Effects of Chios Mastic Water by the In Vitro Micronucleus Test on Human Lymphocytes and the In Vivo Wing Somatic Test on Drosophila

“…The above is corroborated by a study of Doi et al [78], according to which Chios mastic gum at high doses enhances the induction of preneoplastic lesions in rat liver. Thus, as proposed for other substances [79]–[82], some of CMW’s constituents could potentially act as free radical scavengers at low concentrations and as pro-oxidants at higher concentrations. However, in our testing systems, the antigenotoxic activity of CMW was accomplished by quite different concentrations.…”

Cytotoxic Activity of Piper cubeba Extract in Breast Cancer Cell Lines

“…Furanofuran lignans, such as cubebin, hinokinin, yatein and isoyatein are common lignans that are found in the plant genus Piper and also appear as a major lignans in the dried fruit of P. cubeba [ 14 ]. Cubebin is known to possess anti-inflammatory, analgesic [ 15 ] and anti-microbial activities [ 16 ], as well as antioxidants [ 17 ].…”

Medicinal Attributes of Lignans Extracted from Piper Cubeba: Current Developments

“…Recently,t he total syntheseso f( À)-cis-cubebin,( À)-bicubebin A ( 20), (À)-bicubebin B ( 26), and (+ +)-bicubebin C( 27)h ave confirmed their structures and absolutes tereochemistry.T he proposed structure of an isolated naturalp roduct ascribed to the cis-cubebin structure has been shown to be incorrect and is in fact (À)-bicubebin B.…”

“…fruits. [1,25] Recent studies aimed at investigating the biological activities of crude fruit extracts [26,27] have been related to biological properties discovered in lignans. [28] Some interesting biological activities of lignans extracted from P. cubeba have been reported, and these lignans could potentially be developed as new drugs.…”