Photoprotective and Antigenotoxic Effects of the Flavonoids Apigenin, Naringenin and Pinocembrin

Abstract

This work evaluated the photoprotective and antigenotoxic effects against ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation of flavonoid compounds apigenin, naringenin and pinocembrin. The photoprotective efficacy of these compounds was estimated using in vitro photoprotection indices, and the antigenotoxicity against UVB radiation was evaluated using the SOS chromotest and an enzymatic (proteinase K/T4 endonuclease V enzyme) comet assay in UV-treated Escherichia coli and human (HEK-293) cells, respectively. Naringenin and pinocembrin showed maximum UV-absorption peak in UVC and UVB zones, while apigenin showed UV-absorption capability from UVC to UVA range. These compounds acted as UV filters reducing UV-induced genotoxicity, both in bacteria and in human cells. The enzymatic comet assay resulted highly sensitive for detection of UVB-induced DNA damage in HEK-293 cells. In this work, the photoprotective potential of these flavonoids was widely discussed.

Recent advances on the roles of flavonoids as plant protective molecules after UV and high light exposure

“…Flavones like other flavonoids accumulate in the epidermis and in the outermost cell layers of mesophyll tissues, providing a shield‐type mechanism against harmful effects of elevated UV‐B radiation. The characteristic UV‐absorbing peaks confer plants the advantage of a broad absorption spectrum (García Forero et al 2019). As it was described for flavonols, in M. polymorpha thallus exposed to high UV‐B conditions that produce oxidative stress, the ratio of luteolin to apigenin increased compared with levels under control conditions without UV‐B and near ambient UV‐B, suggesting that B‐ring‐ ortho ‐dihydroxyflavones like luteolin are more effective as antioxidants to scavenge oxidative free radicals than B‐ring‐mono‐hydroxyflavones such as apigenin (Ryan et al 1998).…”

Antifungal activity and toxicity studies of flavanones isolated from Tessaria dodoneifolia aerial parts

“…These findings are in concordance with those previously reported on rats [ 12 , 37 ] using T. dodoneifolia extracts. Moreover, NAR and PIN were recently reported as antigenotoxic molecules, linking the effect to the inhibition in the formation of pyrimidine cyclobutane (CPD) [ 38 ].…”

Apigenin: A Therapeutic Agent for Treatment of Skin Inflammatory Diseases and Cancer

“…Apigenin prevented cyclobutene pyrimidine dimers, which are generated by UV exposure. Due to this, apigenin restored the lower level of nucleotide excision repair proteins and affected cell apoptosis [ 38 , 39 ]. Apigenin downregulated the level of metalloproteinase-1 by interfering with the Ca 2+ influx-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) pathways in HaCaT or normal human dermal fibroblast cells under UVA-irradiated conditions.…”