Abstract

MANGIFERA INDICA L.: EVALUATION OF THE CYTOTOXIC AND GENOTOXIC POTENTIAL OF THE AQUEOUS EXTRACT BY THE ALLIUM CEPA TEST

Viviane Moreira de Lima*, Jennifer Vieira Gomes, Aline Ferreira Matos, Gabriela Lopes Pereira, Mayara de Jesus Costa Larangeira and Helcio Resende Borba

Abstract

The mango tree, Mangifera indica L., is a large tree belonging to the family Anacardiaceae. Its bark, roots and leaves are used in folk medicine in virtually all regions where it grows. In particular, the leaves are used to treat various ailments, such as pain, diarrhea, fever, flu, coughing and skin rashes and wounds. This study examined the cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of aqueous extracts from M. indica leaves, employing the Allium cepa test. For this purpose, A. cepa bulbs were separated into two control and two treatment groups, each with five onions. The negative control group remained in distilled water, the treatment groups were placed in contact with the plant extract at two concentrations (15 mg mL-1 and 30 mg mL-1) and the positive control was immersed in a solution containing 25 mM of EMS. The results obtained demonstrate that the leaf aqueous extracts of M. indica do not have genotoxic potential, but significant cytotoxic and antiproliferative activities were detected at the two concentrations analyzed, indicating good potential because of the presence of components that can be used as anticancer agents.

Keywords: Allium cepa, cytoxicity, genotoxicity, Mangifera indica.