Quercetin reduces chromosome aberrations induced by atrazine in the Allium cepa test

Abstract

Quercetin is a widely distributed plant flavonoid possessing a variety of chemical and biological activities, including chelation, free-radical scavenging, and antioxidant activity. Atrazine is a selective triazine herbicide that has been the subject of an international revision program for human and ecological health risks because of its persistence in the environment. In a previous study, we demonstrated that atrazine was clastogenic in the Allium cepa test. In this present study, we investigated whether quercetin affords protection from the chromosome breaks induced by atrazine. In a preliminary assay, 0.1-20 microg/ml quercetin produced no toxicity or clastogenic activity in the Allium cepa test. Subsequently, we evaluated the effects of 0.5 and 5 microg/ml quercetin on the clastogenicity of 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 microg/l atrazine. Quercetin (0.5 microg/ml) significantly reduced the frequency of total aberrations induced by 7.5 microg/l atrazine, while both concentrations of quercetin significantly decreased the frequency of fragments induced by 7.5 microg/l atrazine. The results of this study indicate that plant flavonoids such as quercetin may protect against the genotoxic effects of atrazine. Efforts to understand the extent to which plant flavonoids influence the biological activities of genotoxicants and the mechanisms involved in the interactions could help to better discern the advantages and disadvantages of their use and to clarify their possible protective role against pollutants.

Genetic Damage Induced by a Food Coloring Dye (Sunset Yellow) on Meristematic Cells ofBrassica campestrisL.

“…Induction of C-mitosis commonly is associated with spindle poisons, indicating tubogenic effect [ 37 ]. Our study is in agreement with the findings of many researchers [ 16 , 24 , 39 – 47 ]. They also reported the mitoinhibitory potential of food additives and some related chemicals on higher plants such as Vicia faba , Allium cepa L., and Trigonella foenum graecum because higher plants provide a useful genetic system for screening and monitoring the potency of environmental hazards.…”

Evaluation of the Genotoxic Potential againstH2O2-Radical-Mediated DNA Damage and Acute Oral Toxicity of Standardized Extract ofPolyalthia longifoliaLeaf

“…However, such phenomenon was reverting back to normal in the extract treated (100  μ g/mL) cell together with the Fenton reagent for which the MI was 0.386. Moreover, when 10  μ g/mL quercetin was tested in combination with Fenton reagent (30 mM H 2 O 2 , 100  μ M ascorbic acid, and 100  μ M FeCl 3 ), the total number of chromosome aberrations was reduced (1.07%), with the MI index value of 0.401 [20]. Chromosome aberrations were observed in all stages of mitosis.…”

“…The A. cepa bulbs were grown in tap water at room temperature for 2-3 days. When the roots were 2–4 cm in length, the bulbs were treated with different concentrations of the crude extract (100, 250, 500  μ g/mL) for 24 h. Quercetin (10  μ g/mL) a known phenolic compound was used as a positive control [20]. Another set of roots was placed in 30% H 2 O 2 for 30 min.…”

Genotoxic effects of mono-, di-, and trisodium phosphate on mitotic activity, DNA content, and nuclear volume inAllium cepaL.

“…Mutagenic activity of chemicals has been analyzed with different plant systems such as Allium cepa and Vicia faba. With these plant systems, chromosomal aberration assays, mutation assays and cytogenetic tests have been performed (Lı and Meng 2003;Bolle et al 2004;Marcano et al 2004;Mastrangelo et al 2006;Pandey and Santosh 2007;Türkoğlu 2007Türkoğlu , 2008Yıldız and Arıkan 2008). Plant bioassays, which are sensitive and simple in comparison with animal bioassays, have been validated in international collaborative studies under the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO) and US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), and proven to be efficient tests for genotoxic monitoring of environmental pollutants (Grant 1982, Ma 1982, 1999.…”