Genotoxic evaluation of the infusion of Baccharis spicata (Lam.) Baill (Asteraceae), a substitute of the medicinal plant known as “carqueja” in Argentina

The infusion of Baccharis spicata(Lam.) Baill (Asteraceae) has antiviral activity againsthepatitis B virus without cytotoxic effects against several cell lines

“…Furthermore, the plant infusion did not show cytotoxic effect at the evaluated concentrations on A549 and Vero cell lines at 24 hours. Previously, our group have been reported that B. spicata did not produce cytotoxicity after 72 hours of incubation in the CHO cell line (Agudelo et al, 2021).…”

“…Several substances present in the infusion could explain the antiviral effect observed. This infusion was previously standardized in Agudelo et al (2021), and an aliquot was employed in these assays. In the previously cited article, it was reported that 0.390 ± 0.05 mg of 5-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA)/mL; 0.524 ± 0.07 mg of 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (3,5-DCQA)/mL and 0.0953 ± 0.004 mg of rutin/mL were present in the infusion.…”

“…It is likely to be found in the Paraná and Rio de la Plata Delta, and fields with minor anthropogenic modification (Cabrera & Zardini, 1993). Phytochemical studies on B. spicata species showed the presence of caffeoylquinic derivatives (Bettucci et al, 2020, Agudelo et al, 2021 and clerodane diterpenes (Gallardo et al, 1996). In addition, the essential oil composition has been reported (Retta et al, 2009;Ferreti et al, 2022).…”

“…Within the biological activity of Baccharis species, studies showed their effect as antiviral against Poliovirus and Herpes simplex virus (Jaime et al, 2013) and cytotoxic against cancer cell models ( Monks et al, 2002). Moreover, our group has previously reported a lack of genotoxicity of the B. spicata leave infusion (Agudelo et al, 2021).…”