Genotoxic and Cytotoxic Studies of Beta‐Sitosterol and Pteropodine in Mouse

Abstract

Beta-sitosterol (BS) and pteropodine (PT) are constituents of various plants with pharmacological activities potentially useful to man. The chemicals themselves possess biomedical properties related to the modulation of the immune and the nervous systems, as well as to the inflammatory process. Therefore, safety evaluation of the compounds is necessary in regard to their probable beneficial use in human health. The present study evaluates their genotoxic and cytotoxic potential by determining the capacity of the compounds to induce sister chromatid exchanges (SCE), or to alter cellular proliferation kinetics (CPK) and the mitotic index (MI) in mouse bone marrow cells. Besides, it also determines their capacity to increase the rate of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPE) in peripheral mouse blood, and the relationship polychromatic erythrocytes/normochromatic erythrocytes (PE/NE) as an index of cytotoxicity. For the first assay, four doses of each compound were tested: 200, 400, 600, and 1000 mg/kg in case of BS, and 100, 200, 300, and 600 mg/kg for PT. The results in regard to both agents showed no SCE increase induced by any of the tested doses, as well as no alteration in the CPK, or in the MI. With respect to the second assay, the results obtained with the two agents were also negative for both the MNPE and the PE/NE index along the daily evaluation made for four days. In the present study, the highest tested dose corresponded to 80% of the LD50 obtained for BS and to 78% in the case of PT. The results obtained establish that the studied agents have neither genotoxic nor cytotoxic effect on the model used, and therefore they encourage studies on their pharmacological properties.

Antigenotoxic, Antioxidant and Lymphocyte Induction Effects Produced by Pteropodine

“…Mortality among mice was observed up to 7 days; the LD 50 was obtained as the geometric mean between the minimal lethal dose and the maximal sublethal dose. With this procedure we confirmed the previously reported LD 50 of 771 mg/kg for pteropodine [16].…”

“…Based on the abovementioned information, our laboratory has undertaken the evaluation of the genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of β‐sitosterol and pteropodine. In an earlier study, we found that neither of the two compounds produced genotoxicity in mouse [16]. We have also determined that β‐sitosterol protects mouse cells from the DNA damage induced by doxorubicin, and that it is a lymphocyte inducer and a free radical scavenging agent [17].…”

Phytosterol‐based edible oleogels: A novel way of replacing saturated fat in food

“…; Paniagua‐Pérez et al . ) and are used in foods already. However, other potential gelators may not have the required approval to be used as direct ingredients in foods in the amounts that are necessary to form an organogel; therefore, certain regulatory changes will be needed to enable this process.…”

Terpenoids from Platostoma rotundifolium (Briq.) A. J. Paton Alter the Expression of Quorum Sensing-Related Virulence Factors and the Formation of Biofilm in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1

“…It should be noted that: (i) cassipourol exhibits cytotoxicity with IC 50 values of 2.4 and 2.8 μg/mL (8.2 and 9.5 µM) against the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line [21] and larvicidal activity against Culex quinquefasciatus [57]; (ii) the cytotoxicity of α-amyrin has not been reported yet conversely to its anomer β-amyrin which exhibited weak cytotoxic activities against human bladder cancer cells (NTUB1) [58]; and (iii) β-sitosterol is already used and commercialized as dietary supplement without genotoxicity and cytotoxicity [59]. …”