Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900 Monte Alegre, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo CP 14049-900, Brazil.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2010 Feb 3;127(2):445-50. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2009.10.015. Epub 2009 Oct 27.
Cordia ecalyculata Vell. and Echinodorus grandiflorus (Cham. & Schltdl.) Micheli are extensively used in Brazil as therapeutic preparations for indigenous groups and the general population. These plants have been used in the folk medicine as: tonic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, appetite suppressants, for the treatment of snake bites, and weight loss.
In this study, it was verified the possible cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of the crude extracts of. Cordia ecalyculata and Echinodorus grandiflorus, as well as their effectiveness in treating obesity.
The Micronucleus Test was used for the evaluation of possible clastogenic and aneugenic effects, and the Comet Assay was used for the evaluation of single-strand and double-strand DNA breaks. The cytotoxic effects of the crude extracts were verified by PCE/NCE ratio. Swiss mice (Mus musculus) were used as the experimental model.
It was observed a significant (P<0.05) increase, dose-independent, in the average frequency of micronucleated erythrocytes in peripheral blood in mice treated with either the Cordia ecalyculata or Echinodorus grandiflorus extracts, in comparison with the negative control. There were no significant differences (P>0.05) in the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes for both extract treatment. We observed that treatment with the Cordia ecalyculata extract at concentrations of 1000 and 2000 mg/kg bw resulted in a PCE/NCE ratio that was larger (P<0.05) than the negative control. After 15 days of daily treatment, a dose of 2000 mg/kg bw of either phytotherapeutic did not reduce body mass gain or the amount of food consumed by Swiss mice when compared with the negative control (P>0.05).
The results of this study allowed us to infer that the crude extracts of Cordia ecalyculata and Echinodorus grandiflorus do not display cytotoxic or genotoxic activities. However, they do possess weak clastogenic activity (without significance) on peripheral blood cells. Contrary to commonly held beliefs it was also found in this study that the extracts are not effective for obesity treatments.
Cordia ecalyculata Vell. 和 Echinodorus grandiflorus（Cham. & Schltdl.）Micheli 在巴西被广泛用作治疗土著群体和普通人群的治疗制剂。这些植物在民间医学中被用作：补品、利尿剂、消炎药、食欲抑制剂、治疗蛇咬伤和减肥。
在这项研究中，验证了 Cordia ecalyculata 和 Echinodorus grandiflorus 的粗提取物的可能细胞毒性和遗传毒性作用，以及它们治疗肥胖的有效性。
使用微核试验评估可能的断裂剂和变构剂作用，使用彗星试验评估单链和双链 DNA 断裂。通过 PCE/NCE 比值验证粗提取物的细胞毒性作用。使用瑞士小鼠（Mus musculus）作为实验模型。
与阴性对照组相比，用 Cordia ecalyculata 或 Echinodorus grandiflorus 提取物处理的小鼠外周血中微核红细胞的平均频率呈剂量依赖性显著增加（P<0.05）。两种提取物处理的多色性红细胞微核频率均无显著差异（P>0.05）。我们观察到，用 Cordia ecalyculata 提取物处理浓度为 1000 和 2000 mg/kg bw 时，PCE/NCE 比值大于阴性对照组（P<0.05）。经过 15 天的每日治疗，与阴性对照组相比，Cordia ecalyculata 或 Echinodorus grandiflorus 的 2000 mg/kg bw 剂量的植物治疗并未减少瑞士小鼠的体重增加或食物摄入量（P>0.05）。
本研究结果表明，Cordia ecalyculata 和 Echinodorus grandiflorus 的粗提取物没有显示出细胞毒性或遗传毒性活性。然而，它们确实对外周血细胞具有较弱的断裂剂活性（无意义）。与普遍的看法相反，本研究还发现提取物对肥胖症的治疗无效。
