Protective effect of rosmarinic acid on V79 cells evaluated by the micronucleus and comet assays

Abstract

Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a naturally occurring phenolic compound, which contributes to the beneficial and health-promoting effects of herbs, spices and medicinal plants. RA has shown several biological activities, such as hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antiangiogenic, antitumor, antidepressant, antineurodegenerative, HIV-1 inhibitory and antioxidant effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of RA to prevent chemically induced chromosome breakage or loss and primary DNA damage using the micronucleus and comet assays with V79 cells, respectively. The chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DXR; 0.5 microg ml(-1)) was used as the DNA-damaging agent. The cultures were treated with different concentrations of RA (0.28, 0.56 and 1.12 mm) alone or in combination with DXR. The results showed that RA exerted no genotoxic effect, but significantly reduced the frequency of micronuclei and the extent of DNA damage induced by DXR at the three concentrations tested. The antioxidant activity of RA might be involved in the reduction of DXR-induced DNA damage observed in the present study.

Assessment of DNA interstrand crosslinks in NIH/3T3 cells induced by Chloroethylnitrosoureas

“…DNA damage caused by different nitrosoureas has been studied via different methods of detection, such as agarose gel electrophoresis assay [16], fluorescence assay [17] and lipid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) [18]. Being highly sensitive and specific, the comet assay proved to be a useful technique to evaluate the degree of DNA damage [19]. Our study compared the interstrand crosslinking induced by different kinds of CENUs via single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay firstly, and it showed that SCGE assay is a convenient method to detect the DNA breaks and interstrand crosslinks.…”

Antigenotoxic and Antioxidant Properties of <i>Solanum cernuum</i> and Its Alkaloid, Cernumidine

“…The treatment designs and cell collection and fixation procedures described by Furtado et al were used. 15) The criterion proposed by Fenech was used for the analysis of micronuclei. 16) A total of 3000 binucleated cells were scored per treatment, corresponding to 1000 cells/treatment/ repetition.…”

Influence of <i>Styrax camporum</i> and of Chemical Markers (Egonol and Homoegonol) on DNA Damage Induced by Mutagens with Different Mechanisms of Action

“…The cells were then washed with PBS, complete culture medium containing cytochalasin-B (Sigma-Aldrich; 3 µg/mL) was added, and the mixture was incubated for 17 h. The cells were harvested and fixed as described by Furtado et al 25) The criterion established by Fenech 26) was used for the analysis of micronuclei in which 3000 binucleated cells were scored per treatment, for a total of 1000 cells/treatment/repetition.…”