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Evaluation of mutagenic activity in an extract of pepper tree stem bark ( Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi)
Author(s) -
de Carvalho Maria Cleide Ribeiro Dantas,
Barca Francisco Napoleão Túlio Varela,
AgnezLima Lucymara Fassarella,
de Medeiros Sílvia Regina Batistuzzo
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
environmental and molecular mutagenesis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1098-2280
pISSN - 0893-6692
DOI - 10.1002/em.10183
Subject(s) - genotoxicity , bark (sound) , pepper , ames test , dna damage , chemistry , biology , reactive oxygen species , oxidative stress , mutagenesis , bacteria , traditional medicine , botany , biochemistry , food science , salmonella , dna , mutation , toxicity , gene , medicine , ecology , genetics , organic chemistry
An extract (decoction) from pepper tree stem bark ( Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi) is widely used in Brazil as a topical antiinflammatory agent and to cicatrize wounds. The extract contains catechin, tannins, terpenes, flavonoids, and saponins; of these components, both mutagenic potential and antioxidant properties have been ascribed to flavonoids. The mutagenicity of some flavonoids is believed to be associated with the formation of reactive oxygen species and seems to depend on the number and position of hydroxyl groups. In the present study, we evaluated an extract of S. terebinthifolius in a series of cell‐free and bacterial assays in order to determine its genotoxic potential. The extract was negative in a cell‐free plasmid DNA test, indicating that it did not directly break DNA. Positive results, however, were obtained in the SOS chromotest, in a forward mutagenesis assay employing CC104 and CC104 mut M mut Y strains of Escherichia coli , and in the Salmonella reversion assay, using strains TA97, TA98, TA100, and TA102. All the bacterial tests were performed without exogenous metabolic activation due to the topical use of this preparation. The results indicate that pepper tree stem bark extract produces DNA damage and mutation in bacteria, and that oxidative damage may be responsible for the genotoxicity. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 42:185–191, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.