Testing ofSchefflera vinosaextract in mammalian cells in vitro and in vivo for potential toxicity, genetic damage, and role of oxidation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of a hydroethanolic extract of Schefflera vinosa (SV), a plant with schistosomicidal activity, as well as its influence on DNA damage induced by different mutagens, methyl methane sulfonate (MMS) and hydrogen peroxide (HO), in V79 cells and Swiss mice. Schefflera vinosa extract produced cytotoxicity at concentrations of 312.5 µg/ml or higher using the XTT cell proliferation assay kit. Treatment of V79 cell cultures with the highest SV concentration tested (150 µg/ml) significantly increased the frequency of micronuclei (MN) compared to controls. All SV concentrations significantly reduced the frequency of MN induced by hydrogen peroxide in V79 cell cultures. Further, SV was able to scavenge free radicals in the DPPH assay. In the in vivo test system, treatment with the highest dose tested (1,000 mg/kg body weight) induced a significant rise in frequency of DNA damage using the comet assay. However, animals treated with different doses of SV demonstrated absence of genotoxicity in the bone marrow MN test. For assessment of modulatory effects, the lower concentration of SV (250 mg/kg body weight) administered to MMS-treated mice significantly reduced frequency of DNA damage compared to the positive control (MMS alone). In contrast, the highest concentration tested (1,000 mg/kg body weight) significantly increased the rate of MN induced by MMS. The lack of genotoxic damage at biologically relevant SV concentrations, as well as the SV-mediated antigenotoxic and antioxidant activities, indicate the potential therapeutic usefulness of this plant extract. These activities may be attributed, at least in part, to the flavonoid quercitrin, its major component.

Antibacterial and Cytotoxic Activities of Pinus tropicalis and Pinus elliottii Resins and of the Diterpene Dehydroabietic Acid Against Bacteria That Cause Dental Caries

“…Extracellular XTT reduction occurs on the plasma membrane surface via transmembrane electron transport. This assay is widely used to determine cell proliferation or the cytotoxic effects of chemicals (Bernas and Dobrucki, 1999; Ferreira et al, 2016). For these experiments, the cells (10 4 cells/well) were plated onto 96-well microplates.…”

Assessment of DNA damage in a group of professional dancers during a 10-month dancing season

“…The comet assay or single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) is a simple, quick, and sensitive method for quantitatively measuring DNA strand breaks in individual cells. For the last two decades, this method has been extensively employed in biomonitoring studies and in a range of in vivo and in vitro systems (Cemeli & Anderson, 2011;Dusinska & Collins, 2008;Ferreira et al, 2016;Trindade et al, 2016). Cells with increased DNA damage display enhanced DNA migration from the nucleus toward the anode (Dusinska & Collins, 2008).…”