Phytochemical, cytotoxic, and genotoxic evaluation of protein extract of Amaranthus hypochondriacus seeds

Abstract

Amaranth has been of interest for its nutritional quality and its multiple benefits; however, there is little research on its toxicological effect. This work studied antinutritional compounds, the cytotoxic and genotoxic effect in the Amaranthus protein extract (PEAh). The content of lectins, tannins, saponins, and trypsin inhibitors was determined. Biological studies were conducted to determine toxicity in male CD-1 mice by intraperitoneal administration. The genotoxic potential was determined by the micronucleus test. The bone marrow cytotoxicity was determined by polychromatic erythrocyte (PE) rate and the cytotoxic effect was evaluated by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) test. Our results showed considerably high concentrations of lectins and trypsin inhibitors, lower concentrations of tannins and saponins in PEAh. The PEAh was toxic to mice, presenting genotoxic and cytotoxic damage to bone marrow and hepatocytes.Evaluación fitoquímica, citotóxica y genotóxica del extracto de proteína de semillas de Amaranthus hypochondriacus RESUMEN El amaranto ha sido de interés por su calidad nutricional y sus múltiples beneficios; sin embargo, hay poca investigación sobre su efecto toxicológico. Este trabajo estudió compuestos antinutricionales, el efecto citotóxico y genotóxico en el extracto de proteína de Amaranthus hypochondriacus (PEAh). Se determinó el contenido de lectinas, taninos, saponinas e inhibidores de tripsina. Se realizaron estudios biológicos para determinar la toxicidad en ratones machos CD-1 mediante administración intraperitoneal. El potencial genotóxico se determinó mediante la prueba de micronúcleos. La citotoxicidad de la médula ósea se determinó mediante la tasa de eritrocitos policromáticos (PE) y el efecto citotóxico se evaluó mediante la prueba MTT. Los resultados mostraron concentraciones considerablemente altas de lectinas e inhibidores de tripsina, concentraciones más bajas de taninos y saponinas en PEAh. El PEAh fue tóxico para los ratones, presentando daño genotóxico y citotóxico en la médula ósea y los hepatocitos.

Effects of Germination and Popping on the Anti-Nutritional Compounds and the Digestibility of Amaranthus hypochondriacus Seeds

“…Presence of anti-nutritional compounds in treated and untreated seeds of several amaranth species has been reported in extant literature, as processing affects the content of some of these compounds [ 8 , 9 ]. In the present study, anti-nutritional compounds were found in all five amaranth seed samples.…”

“…The findings reported by Valadez-Vega, further indicate that Amaranthus hypochondriacus species have high concentrations of lectins and trypsin inhibitors and lower concentrations of tannins and saponins [ 8 ]. The findings reported by Valadez-Vega, further indicate that Amaranthus hypochondriacus species have high concentrations of lectins and trypsin inhibitors and lower concentrations of tannins and saponins [ 9 ].…”

Partial Characterization of Lectins Purified from the Surco and Vara (Furrow and Rod) Varieties of Black Phaseolus vulgaris

“…The purification results were further utilized in this work for determining protein sizes by NATIVE-PAGE and SDS-PAGE methods, given that several Phaseolus lectins are composed of four subunits [ 35 , 36 ]. Available data further indicate that the MW of Phaseolus vulgaris lectin subunits can vary between 30 and 36.5 kDa [ 6 , 9 , 24 , 25 , 37 ], concurring with the values obtained for LBBV and LBBS using SDS-PAGE.…”