Safety Assessment of Oil from Pequi (Caryocar brasilienseCamb.): Evaluation of the Potential Genotoxic and Clastogenic Effects

Abstract

Genotoxic data of medicinal plants and functional foods are required as part of the risk assessment by international regulatory agencies. Due to its food consumption and ethnopharmacological relevance, pequi oil (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.) is one of these compounds to be studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic, genotoxic, and clastogenic effects of the oil from the pulp of C. brasiliense (OPCB) in vivo and in vitro. Initially, the Artemia salina in vitro assay was conducted to determine the cells viability rate of different doses of the OPCB. Subsequently, comet assay (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD 489) and micronucleus test (OECD 474) were performed in blood and bone marrow of Wistar rats treated orally with a 125, 250, 500, or 1000 mg/kg/bw of the OPCB for 4 weeks. The chemical analysis indicated the presence of β-carotene and lycopene in the oil. In the A. salina test, all OPCB doses maintained cell viability rates statistically similar to the negative control. The in vivo tests performed showed that OPCB did not show significant genotoxic or clastogenic effects in cells analyzed with the four doses tested. Altogether, these results indicate that, under our experimental conditions, C. brasiliense fruit oil did not reveal genetic toxicity in rat cells.

Pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Cambess)-Loaded Nanoemulsion, Orally Delivered, Modulates Inflammation in LPS-Induced Acute Lung Injury in Mice

“…Pharmaceutics 2020, 12, 6 of 17Data are expressed as mean ± SD of 3 batches. 1 LD = Laser Diffraction and 2 SPAN = Droplet size distribution; 3 DLS = Dynamic Light Scattering and 4 PDI = Polydispersity index; 5 BNE = Blank nanoemulsion (BNE);6 Pequi-NE = Pequi-loaded nanoemulsion;7 Oleic acid-NE = Oleic acid nanoemulsion.…”

Efeito do óleo de pequi (Caryocar brasiliense) sobre a composição corporal e a pressão arterial de adultos fisicamente ativos: um estudo quasi-experimental

“…Although previous studies are inconclusive with respect to the influence of pequi oil supplementation on physical exercise adaptations (i.e., body fat and muscle mass percentage, resting blood pressure, and others), it could be expected that some differences between groups could be observed. This is based on the known composition of pequi, a high energetic fruit rich in lipids with high levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), proteins, dietary fibers, vitamins, polyphenols, carotenoids, and minerals (LIMA et al, 2008;NASCIMENTO-SILVA;NAVES, 2019;TRAESEL et al, 2017). Altogether, these components give antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertensive properties to pequi oil.…”

Caryocar brasiliense Cambess. Pulp Oil Supplementation Reduces Total Cholesterol, LDL-c, and Non-HDL-c in Animals

“…Although not being one of the main traditional oil crops, such as soybean, canola, sunflower and [18], another vegetable oil with a high content of MUFAs is C. brasiliense, with 54.28% oleic FA [19,20]. It is from a typical Brazilian fruit known as pequi, with a yellow-orangish colour and peculiar odor, reported as being rich in antioxidant compounds, such as phenolics, carotenoids, tocopherols, phytosterols [21], lycopene, and beta-carotene [22], besides showing anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective effect [23]. Hildebrand et al (2017) highlight the importance of new studies that evaluate foods with protective effects on human health, especially those that have anti-inflammatory action [24].…”