Comparative study of β-carotene and microencapsulated β-carotene: Evaluation of their genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects

Abstract

β-Carotene (BC) is one of the natural pigments that is most commonly added to food; however, the utilization of BC is limited due to its instability. Microencapsulation techniques are commonly used because they can protect the microencapsulated material from oxidization. Nevertheless, the properties of the encapsulated compounds must be studied. We compared the antigenotoxic potential of pure and microencapsulated β-carotene (mBC) in Wistar rats. Two doses of BC or mBC (2.5 or 5.0 mg/kg) were administered by gavage over a period of 14 days. The final gavage was followed by an injection of doxorubicin (DXR). After 24h the animals were euthanized. The micronucleus test results showed that when both mBC and DXR were given, only the higher dose was antigenotoxic. The results of the comet assay show that when given in association with DXR, mBC had protective effects in the liver. The differences between the results obtained with BC and mBC suggest that possibly the carotenoid biodisponibility was modified by the process of microencapsulation. In conclusion, mBC does not lose its protective properties, but higher doses must be used to observe antigenotoxic effects. This is the first time that the genotoxicity and antigenotoxicity of a microencapsulated compound was evaluated in vivo.

Cytotoxic, genotoxic and mutagenic potential of UHT whole milk

“…The significant presence of mitotic spindle alterations shows that the evaluated milk were genotoxic to root cells. In agreement with Aissa et al (2012), these disorders in tissues exposed to genotoxic agents evidence that such compounds primarily affect the integrity of the nuclear spindle, thus causing the improper alignment of chromosomes at the equatorial plate during mitosis and impeding the normal progress of the cell cycle.…”

Toxicidade De Bebidas Lácteas Achocolatadas Do Tipo Não Fermentadas Em Tecido De Intensa Proliferação Celular

“…A presença significante de células micronucleadas, como a observada aqui em consequência da ação dos achocolatados, classifica substâncias, compostos ou soluções testadas como genotóxicas (Aissa et al, 2012). Tal condição sugere que os produtos lácteos avaliados neste trabalho devam ser avaliados em sistemas testes animais, uma vez que, de acordo com Queiroz et al (2013) A -Pepsico©; B -Nestlé©; C -Maratá©; D -Piracanjuba©; E -Embaré©; TCII -Total de células em interfase e indiferenciadas; TE -Tempo de Exposição; CO -Controle; IM -Índice Mitótico; TCD -Total de células em divisão.…”

Acute Toxicity of Grape, Plum and Orange Synthetic Food Flavourings Evaluated in in vivo Test Systems

“…It is known that micronuclei, being acentric fragments that were not incorporated into the nuclei of cells during telophase, can cause cell death due to suppression or reduction of expression of primary or primordial genes. Thus, the signifi cant presence of micronuclei in tissue promotes systemic cytotoxicity, resulting from high mutation rates and, consequently, genetic instability in cells (26). Importantly, although genetic toxicity is not a measure of carcinogenicity, it is oft en related to the onset of cancer, since there is a positive correlation between the increased frequency of micronuclei and the appearance of tumours in mammals (27).…”