“Brazilian ginseng” (Pfaffia glomerata Spreng. Pedersen, Amaranthaceae) methanolic extract: cytogenotoxicity in animal and plant assays

Abstract Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng) Pedersen is a medicinal plant largely used as an adaptogenic herb. The species is naturally found in Africa and Americas and is the subject of pharmaceutical and commercial interest, mainly due to the accumulation of β-ecdysone in its roots. Brazil is considered the greatest supplier of P. glomerata in the world. Due to the morphological similarity of its roots to those of Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng), the species became known as the Brazilian ginseng. In this study, we performed the cytogenotoxic evaluation of P. glomerata root extract in rodent bone marrow micronucleus and Allium cepa assays. Taking into consideration the therapeutic dosage of P. glomerata , three methanolic extract dilutions were used in the Micronucleus assay. Each animal was treated with two consecutive doses with a 24-h interval. To assess the cytogenotoxicity of the extract, 2000 polychromatic erythrocytes per animal were analyzed. For the Allium cepa assay, onion seeds were exposed during 24 h to six methanolic extract dilutions. Cell cycle and chromosomal alterations were quantified. The results of the Micronucleus assay showed genotoxic effects for all treatments investigated, considering the increase in the number of micronucleated cells. In the A. cepa assay the methanolic extract induced alterations in the cell cycle. Aneugenic and clastogenic effects were observed. The results indicate cytogenotoxic activity of P. glomerata extract in animal and plant cells. Thus, the ingestion of P. glomerata for medicinal purposes should be done carefully. The results also lead to the possibility of investigating the potential of the species in the research of prospective compounds for cancer treatment and for isolation of biologically active substances.