Antimutagenic, Antirecombinogenic, and Antitumor Effect of Amygdalin in a Yeast Cell–Based Test and Mammalian Cell Lines

Abstract

Amygdalin is a major component of the seeds of Rosaceae family of plants such as apricots, peaches, cherry, nectarines, apples, plums, and so on, as well as almonds. It is used in alternative medicine for cancer prevention, alleviation of fever, cough suppression, and quenching thirst. The aim of the present study is to determine the mutagenic and recombinogenic effects of amygdalin in a test system Saccharomyces cerevisiae and to evaluate its potential antitumor effect in a yeast cell-based test and colon cancer cell lines. Results obtained show that concentrations 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL did not have any cytotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effect in yeast cell-based tests. Pretreatment with amygdalin at concentration 100 μg/mL leads to around twofold of the cell survival and decrease of reverse mutation frequency, induced by the alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate. The frequency of gene conversion and mitotic crossing-over is around threefold lower. The anticarcinogenic potential of amygdalin at the same concentration is presented as around fourfold reduction of Ty1 retrotransposition induced by hexavalent chromium. In summary, data presented in this study provide evidence concerning the inability of amygdalin itself to provoke events related to the initial steps of tumorigenesis. In addition, the observed antimutagenic/antirecombinogenic effect could be activation of error-free and error-prone recombination events. Based on the high selectivity toward normal or tumor cell lines, it could be speculated that amygdalin has higher cytotoxic effect in cell lines with higher proliferative and metabolic activity, which are the majority of fast developing tumors.

Recent updates and future perspectives about amygdalin as a potential anticancer agent: A review

“…When the β‐glucosidase is coupled to a tumor‐specific monoclonal antibody, the amygdalin can be converted into an active drug to specifically kill tumor cells. Todorova et al selected the alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) as a standard mutagen to study the potential antimutagenic effect of amygdalin. Their study found that amygdalin did not have the negative effect on the mutagenic and recombination processes in cells.…”

Protective effect of amygdalin on epithelial–mesenchymal transformation in experimental chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mice

“…Amygdalin, a cyano‐containing glycoside compound widely found in the seed of Rosaceae (Todorova, Pesheva, Iliev, Bardarov, & Todorova, ), is an active ingredient in bitter almonds. Its pharmacological effects are extensive, mainly including relief of cough and phlegm, and immunosuppressive (Hwang, Lee, Kim, Shim, & Hahm, ), immunomodulation, anti‐inflammatory (Yang et al, ), antitumour (Makarevic et al, ), and anti‐atherosclerosis activities (Jiagang et al, ).…”

Can Amygdalin Provide any Benefit in Integrative Anticancer Treatment?

“…Jeho protinádorovou účinnost hodnotily dosud pouze dvě téměř 40 let staré otevřené klinické studie, které neprokázaly žádný efekt [36,37]. Jednadvacáté století přineslo novou vlnu zájmu vědeckých pracovníků o amygdalin a jeho protinádorové účinky na úrovni in vitro [3,[19][20][21]40]. V roce 2017 byly pozorovány možné antimutagenní a antirekombigenní účinky amygdalinu in vitro, tudíž by amygdalinu mohl být přisouzen potenciální onkopreventivní efekt [40], jehož zhodnocení však vyžaduje potvrzení dalšími studiemi.…”

“…Jednadvacáté století přineslo novou vlnu zájmu vědeckých pracovníků o amygdalin a jeho protinádorové účinky na úrovni in vitro [3,[19][20][21]40]. V roce 2017 byly pozorovány možné antimutagenní a antirekombigenní účinky amygdalinu in vitro, tudíž by amygdalinu mohl být přisouzen potenciální onkopreventivní efekt [40], jehož zhodnocení však vyžaduje potvrzení dalšími studiemi. Na základě dostupných výsledků lze shrnout, že terapeutická hodnota amygdalinu nebyla dosud prokázána, a tudíž začlenění amygdalinu do standardní či integrativní léčby není možné.…”