Genetic Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Science Faculty, Gazi University, 06500, Teknikokullar, Ankara, Turkey.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2019 Jun 12;237:171-181. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2019.03.036. Epub 2019 Mar 16.
Cynarin is an artichoke phytochemical that possesses a variety of pharmacological features including free-radical scavenging and antioxidant activity. The origin of artichoke species appears to be Mediterranean region. Two of these species, globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L.) and cardoon (Cynara cardunculus var. altilis DC), are widely cultivated and consumed. This vegetable, as the basis of the mediterranean diet, has been used as herbal medicine for its therapeutic effects since ancient times. Therefore, this study was performed to determine genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects of cynarin against MMC (mitomycin C) and HO (hydrogen peroxide) induced genomic instability using chromosome aberrations (CAs), sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs), micronucleus (MN), and comet assays in human lymphocytes.
Lymphocytes obtained from two healthy volunteers (1 male and 1 female) were exposed to different concentrations of cynarin (12-194 μM) alone and the combination of cynarin and MMC (0.60 μM) or cynarin and HO (100 μM, only for comet assay).
Cynarin alone did not induce significant genotoxic effect in the CA, SCE (except 194 μM), MN, and comet assays. The combination of some concentrations of cynarin and MMC decreased the frequency of CAs, SCEs and MN induced by MMC. Furthermore, the combination of cynarin and HO reduced all comet parameters at all the concentrations compared to HO alone. While the highest concentrations of cynarin significantly decreased mitotic index (MI), the combination of cynarin and MMC increased the reduction of MI induced by MMC alone.
All the results obtained in this study demonstrated that cynarin exhibited antigenotoxic effects rather than genotoxic effects. It is believed that cynarin can act as a potential chemo-preventive against genotoxic agents.
水飞蓟宾是一种来源于朝鲜蓟的植物化学物质，具有多种药理学特性，包括自由基清除和抗氧化活性。朝鲜蓟的起源似乎在地中海地区。其中两个物种，即朝鲜蓟（Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L.）和刺菜蓟（Cynara cardunculus var. altilis DC），被广泛种植和食用。这种蔬菜作为地中海饮食的基础，自古以来就因其治疗效果而被用作草药。因此，本研究旨在使用染色体畸变（CA）、姐妹染色单体交换（SCE）、微核（MN）和彗星试验，在人淋巴细胞中测定水飞蓟宾对 MMC（丝裂霉素 C）和 HO（过氧化氢）诱导的基因组不稳定性的遗传毒性和抗原毒性作用。
从两名健康志愿者（1 名男性和 1 名女性）中获得淋巴细胞，分别单独暴露于不同浓度的水飞蓟宾（12-194 μM）以及水飞蓟宾和 MMC（0.60 μM）或水飞蓟宾和 HO（100 μM，仅用于彗星试验）的组合中。
水飞蓟宾单独使用时，在 CA、SCE（194 μM 除外）、MN 和彗星试验中均未引起明显的遗传毒性作用。一些浓度的水飞蓟宾和 MMC 联合使用可降低 MMC 诱导的 CA、SCE 和 MN 的频率。此外，与单独使用 HO 相比，HO 与水飞蓟宾联合使用时，所有彗星参数均降低。虽然水飞蓟宾的最高浓度显著降低有丝分裂指数（MI），但水飞蓟宾和 MMC 的联合使用增加了 MMC 单独使用引起的 MI 降低。
本研究的所有结果表明，水飞蓟宾表现出抗原毒性作用而不是遗传毒性作用。相信水飞蓟宾可以作为潜在的化学预防剂对抗遗传毒性剂。
