Genotoxic potential of selected medicinal plant extracts in human whole blood cultures

Abstract

Introduction: Many plant-derived products despite wide usage are not scientifically evaluated for their safety and efficacy. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic and genotoxic activities of Polygonum aviculare L., Equisetum arvense L., Plantago lanceolata L. and Artemisia absinthium L. ethanolic extracts in human white blood cells. Methods: Cell viability was assayed by trypan blue exclusion method, while the genotoxicity was tested by cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay upon cells stimulation with noncytotoxic concentrations of the plant extracts. Results: None of the plant extracts showed high cytotoxic activity. At the same time, only extract of P. lanceolata did not present any mutagenic activity, while E. arvense, P. aviculare and A. absinthium were clearly genotoxic. Conclusion: Caution is advice in the case of long-term use of E. arvense, P. aviculare and A. absinthium herbal medicines by population.

Investigation of the Genotoxic, Antigenotoxic and Antioxidant Profile of Different Extracts from Equisetum arvense L.

“…Interestingly, the lack of MN formation in cells treated with different concentrations of all the obtained extracts indicates the absence of genotoxic potential in all cases. These results are in accordance with previous findings in different biological models, such as human lymphocytes and Drosophila [ 53 , 55 ].…”

“…Specifically, it has been reported that EtOH extracts of E. arvense L. demonstrated a dose-dependent decrease in the proliferation of human peripheral lymphocytes [ 32 ], and pancreatic carcinoma AsPC-1 cells [ 52 ]. Similarly, cell viability was significantly reduced in human blood cells treated with EtOH E. arvense L. extracts [ 53 ], while there is evidence that EtOH-W E. arvense L. extracts could be cytotoxic in A549 lung carcinoma cells [ 54 ]. Uslu et al [ 40 ], applying a response surface methodology to identify the optimal conditions for E. arvense L. extraction, reported that EtOH-W extracts, demonstrating high levels of AA and TPC, were highly cytotoxic against the NIH3T3 mouse fibroblast cell line, which was also revealed by the results of the present study.…”

“…Milovanović et al [ 56 ] demonstrated a genotoxic potential of the EtOH-W extract of E. arvense L. against human lymphocytes, which however could be due to different geographical and environmental factors such as the soil composition. Even though an increase in MN frequency was observed in human lymphocytes treated with EtOH extract of E. arvense L. at 100 μg mL −1 , the induction was not deemed statistically significant [ 53 ].…”

“…Specifically, it has been reported that EtOH extracts of E. arvense L. demonstrated a dose-dependent decrease in the proliferation of human peripheral lymphocytes [32], and pancreatic carcinoma AsPC-1 cells [52]. Similarly, cell viability was significantly reduced in human blood cells treated with EtOH E. arvense L. extracts [53], while there is evidence that EtOH-W E. arvense L. extracts could be cytotoxic in A549 lung carcinoma cells [54].…”