Avaliação da citotoxicidade e genotoxicidade do extrato metanólico de folhas de Chrysobalanus icaco L.

Abstract

Medicinal plants are used for the treatment and cure of various diseases since the dawn of humanity, because of their therapeutic properties. In Brazil, this practice has been influenced by Indian, African and European civilizations. From the popular knowledge, these plant species are used in different forms such as teas, potions, baths, essential oils and cuisine. The diversity of special metabolites present in different parts of the plants has attracted great interest from the pharmaceutical industry, with currently over 25% of marketed drugs are derived, directly or indirectly, of medicinal plants. Among them, Chrysobalanus icaco L., or abajeru as it is popularly known, has many biological activities, detacando the effects: antiviral and hypoglycemic. The literature suggests isolating one triterpene (pomólico acid) from the methanol extract of this plant, capable of inhibiting growth and inducing apoptosis in a erythroleukemic cell line. In order to confirm this activity in other tumor type, samples of C. icaco were collected in the Parque das Dunas, Cabo Frio, RJ, and extracts were prepared from leaves immersed in methanol (200 g / L). Human lung carcinoma cells (A549 strain) and a normal line (MRC5) were treated with different concentrations of extract. After the 24 hour treatment period, the cytotoxic activity was assayed by blue exclusion method and trypan clonogenic recovery, while the genotoxic by the comet assay. The most cytotoxic effect was observed when cells were exposed to I2FP extract at concentrations of 6.25 and 12.5 ug / ml. Additionally, the genotypes of both the cell lines and plants, can play an important role in these effects since the cancer cells showed reduced mitogenic capacity and observed DNA damage in cells by the comet assay. The chromatographic analysis of the extract was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and it was detected, mostly, phenolic compounds such as flavones. The histochemical technique of the leaf also detected the presence of phenolic compounds other alkaloids. The treatment with plasmids extracts induce breaks in DNA, in addition to increasing the transforming capacity thereof. Finally, the survival rate was lower in tumor cell line A549 cells than in normal cells (MRC5). It has been shown the potential cytotoxic, genotoxic and anti-genotoxic the methanol extract of C. icaco in different biological systems and secondary metabolites may be responsible for the activities identified in this study. In addition to emphasizing the need to be careful in the indiscriminate use of these extracts as well as any other product, called by the people of "natural"