Division of Pharmaceutical Technology, Defence Research Laboratory, DRDO, Assam, India.
Planta Med. 2013 Jul;79(11):939-45. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1328717. Epub 2013 Jul 3.
Boerhaavia diffusa is a traditional herbal medicine extensively used in the Ayurveda and Unani forms of medicine in India and many parts of the world. Different parts of the plant are used as an appetizer, alexiteric, eye tonic, for flushing out the renal system, and to treat blood pressure. This study was conducted to evaluate the in vivo genotoxic and/or antigenotoxic potential of punarnavine, a separated alkaloid from the root of B. diffusa using toxicity studies (OECD guideline 474, 1997). The genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of punarnavine was assayed using the comet assay on lymphocytes, liver, spleen, brain, and bone marrow as well as using the micronucleus test in bone marrow cells including the in vitro chromosomal aberration test. The results demonstrated that none of the tested doses of punarnavine showed genotoxic effects by the comet assay, or clastogenic effects in the micronucleus test. On the other hand, for all cells evaluated, the three tested doses of punarnavine promoted inhibition of DNA damage induced by cyclophosphamide. Based on these results, we concluded that punarnavine, an alkaloid from the Boerhaavia diffusa root, has no genotoxic or clastogenic effects in our experimental conditions. However, it caused a significant decrease in DNA damage induced by cyclophosphamide. It is suggested that the antigenotoxic properties of this alkaloid may be of great pharmacological importance and beneficial for cancer prevention.
猪殃殃是一种传统的草药，在印度的阿育吠陀和尤纳尼医学形式中广泛使用，并且在世界上许多地方也被使用。该植物的不同部分被用作开胃药、解毒药、眼药、用于冲洗肾脏系统以及治疗高血压。本研究旨在评估从猪殃殃根部分离出的生物碱 Punarnavine 的体内遗传毒性和/或抗原毒性潜力，方法是使用毒性研究（OECD 指南 474，1997 年）。使用淋巴细胞、肝脏、脾脏、大脑和骨髓中的彗星试验以及骨髓细胞中的微核试验（包括体外染色体畸变试验）来检测 Punarnavine 的遗传毒性和抗原毒性潜力。结果表明，Punarnavine 的测试剂量均未通过彗星试验显示遗传毒性作用，也未在微核试验中显示出致裂作用。另一方面，对于所有评估的细胞，Punarnavine 的三种测试剂量均促进了环磷酰胺诱导的 DNA 损伤的抑制。基于这些结果，我们得出结论，Punarnavine 是猪殃殃根部的一种生物碱，在我们的实验条件下没有遗传毒性或致裂作用。然而，它显著降低了环磷酰胺诱导的 DNA 损伤。因此，这种生物碱的抗原毒性特性可能具有重要的药理学意义，并有益于癌症预防。
