Cruz Marina Sampaio, Cabral Barroso Sarah, Navoni Julio Alejandro, Rocha Silva Teles Maria Madalena, Barbosa-Filho José Maria, de Oliveira Rocha Hugo Alexandre, Souza do Amaral Viviane
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho 3000, 59078-970 Natal, RN, Brazil.
Laboratório de Mutagênese Ambiental, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho 3000, 59078-970 Natal, RN, Brazil.
Toxicol Rep. 2016 Jun 16;3:539-543. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2016.06.004. eCollection 2016.
Hecogenin is a sapogenin found in Agave species in high quantities and is responsible for the many therapeutic effects of these medicinal plants. In addition, this compound is also widely used in the pharmaceutical industry as a precursor for the synthesis of steroidal hormones and anti-inflammatory drugs. Despite Hecogenin being widely used, little is known about its toxicological properties. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the cytotoxic, genotoxic and mutagenic effects of Hecogenin on HepG2 cells. Cytotoxicity was analyzed using the MTT test. Then, genotoxic and mutagenic potentials were assessed by comet assay and cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay, respectively. Cytotoxic effect was observed only when cells were exposed to concentrations of Hecogenin equal or higher than 100 μM. Although a lower concentration of Hecogenin caused DNA damage, a reduction on nuclear mutagenic markers in HepG2 cells was observed. The results indicated that Hecogenin treatment generated DNA damage, but in fact it would be repaired, avoiding dissemination of the damage throughout the cell division. Further studies need to be performed to confirm the observed protective effect of Hecogenin against genomic instability.
海柯皂苷元是一种在龙舌兰属植物中大量存在的皂苷元，它是这些药用植物诸多治疗作用的原因所在。此外，这种化合物在制药工业中也被广泛用作合成甾体激素和抗炎药物的前体。尽管海柯皂苷元被广泛使用，但其毒理学特性却鲜为人知。因此，本研究旨在探究海柯皂苷元对肝癌细胞系（HepG2）的细胞毒性、遗传毒性和诱变作用。使用MTT试验分析细胞毒性。然后，分别通过彗星试验和胞质分裂阻滞微核试验评估遗传毒性和诱变潜力。仅当细胞暴露于浓度等于或高于100μM的海柯皂苷元时才观察到细胞毒性作用。尽管较低浓度的海柯皂苷元会导致DNA损伤，但在肝癌细胞系（HepG2）中观察到核诱变标记物减少。结果表明，海柯皂苷元处理会产生DNA损伤，但实际上损伤会被修复，从而避免损伤在整个细胞分裂过程中扩散。需要进行进一步的研究以证实所观察到的海柯皂苷元对基因组不稳定性的保护作用。
