Mutagenic and antimutagenic effects of aqueous extract of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) on meristematic cells of Allium cepa.

Polyphenolic compounds present in rosemary were found to have antioxidant properties, anticarcinogenic activity, and to increase the detoxification of pro-carcinogens. The aim of the study was to determine the effect the aqueous extract of rosemary (AER) on mutagenicity induced by methylmethane sulfonate in meristematic cells of Allium cepa, as well as to describe its mode of action. Anti-mutagenicity experiments were carried out with 3 different concentrations of AER, which alone showed no mutagenic effects. In antimutagenicity experiments, AER showed chemopreventive activity in cultured meristematic cells of A. cepa against exposure to methylmethane sulfonate. Additionally, post-treatment and simultaneous treatment using pre-incubation protocols were the most effective. Evaluation of different protocols and the percent reduction in DNA indicated bioantimutagenic as well desmutagenic modes of action for AER. AER may be chemopreventive and antimutagenic.

[1]  S. Maxwell.  Prospects for the Use of Antioxidant Therapies , 1995, Drugs.

[2]  L. R. Ribeiro,et al.  Evaluation of chemopreventive activity of glutamine by the comet and the micronucleus assay in mice's peripheral blood. , 2009, Environmental toxicology and pharmacology.

[3]  Seizi Oga,et al.  Fundamentos de toxicologia , 2008 .

[4]  M. A. Marin-Morales,et al.  Mechanism of micronuclei formation in polyploidizated cells of Allium cepa exposed to trifluralin herbicide , 2007 .

[5]  J. Tai,et al.  Anti-proliferative and antioxidant properties of rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis. , 2007, Oncology reports.

[6]  R. Y. Peng,et al.  Low-density lipoprotein, collagen, and thrombin models reveal that Rosemarinus officinalis L. exhibits potent antiglycative effects. , 2007, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[7]  L. R. Ribeiro,et al.  Protective effect of beta-glucan extracted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, against DNA damage and cytotoxicity in wild-type (k1) and repair-deficient (xrs5) CHO cells. , 2007, Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA.

[8]  L. R. Ribeiro,et al.  Evaluation of antimutagenic activity and mechanisms of action of beta-glucan from barley, in CHO-k1 and HTC cell lines using the micronucleus test. , 2006, Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA.

[9]  C. Acevedo,et al.  Radioprotective-antimutagenic effects of rosemary phenolics against chromosomal damage induced in human lymphocytes by gamma-rays. , 2006, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[10]  M. A. Marin-Morales,et al.  Genotoxicity and mutagenicity of water contaminated with tannery effluents, as evaluated by the micronucleus test and comet assay using the fish Oreochromis niloticus and chromosome aberrations in onion root-tips , 2006 .

[11]  G. Jenkins,et al.  Do dose response thresholds exist for genotoxic alkylating agents? , 2005, Mutagenesis.

[12]  J. Rigonato,et al.  Mechanism of Action of Chlorophyllin against Mitomycin-C Mutagenicity in Allium cepa , 2004 .

[13]  H. Parlar,et al.  Rapid quantitative enrichment of carnosic acid from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) by isoelectric focused adsorptive bubble chromatography. , 2003, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[14]  M. Idaomar,et al.  [Antimutagens and anticarcinogenic agents, identification and mechanisms of action of food xenobiotics]. , 2002, Therapie.

[15]  M. Danilenko,et al.  Carnosic Acid Inhibits Proliferation and Augments Differentiation of Human Leukemic Cells Induced by 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin Dsub3 and Retinoic Acid , 2001, Nutrition and cancer.

[16]  J. Carvalho,et al.  Antiulcerogenic activity of crude hydroalcoholic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis L. , 2000, Journal of ethnopharmacology.

[17]  V. Steele,et al.  Progress in Cancer Chemoprevention , 1999, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[18]  Khaled T. S. Hassan,et al.  Allied studies on the effect of Rosmarinus officinalis L. on experimental hepatotoxicity and mutagenesis. , 1999, International journal of food sciences and nutrition.

[19]  S. De Flora.  Mechanisms of inhibitors of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. , 1998, Mutation research.

[20]  J. Rank,et al.  Allium cepa anaphase-telophase root tip chromosome aberration assay on N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, maleic hydrazide, sodium azide, and ethyl methanesulfonate. , 1997, Mutation research.

[21]  K. Singletary,et al.  Tissue-specific enhancement of xenobiotic detoxification enzymes in mice by dietary rosemary extract , 1997, Plant foods for human nutrition.

[22]  L. Kohlmeier,et al.  Dietary modifiers of carcinogenesis. , 1995, Environmental health perspectives.

[23]  R. Coates,et al.  Epidemiologic studies of antioxidants and cancer in humans. , 1995, Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

[24]  A. Pfeifer,et al.  Rosemary components inhibit benzo[a]pyrene-induced genotoxicity in human bronchial cells. , 1995, Carcinogenesis.

[25]  H. Haraguchi,et al.  Inhibition of lipid peroxidation and superoxide generation by diterpenoids from Rosmarinus officinalis. , 1995, Planta medica.

[26]  W. Grant,et al.  The present status of higher plant bioassays for the detection of environmental mutagens. , 1994, Mutation research.

[27]  G. Fiskesjö.  Allium test II: Assessment of a chemical's genotoxic potential by recording aberrations in chromosomes and cell divisions in root tips of Allium cepa L. , 1994 .

[28]  Y. Lou,et al.  Inhibition of skin tumorigenesis by rosemary and its constituents carnosol and ursolic acid. , 1994, Cancer research.

[29]  G. Fiskesjö.  The allium test in wastewater monitoring , 1993 .

[30]  H. Sies.  Strategies of antioxidant defense. , 1993, European journal of biochemistry.

[31]  M. Waters,et al.  Antimutagenicity profiles for some model compounds. , 1990, Mutation research.

[32]  K. Shimoi,et al.  Desmutagens and bio‐antimutagens – their modes of action , 1987, BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology.