Scholarly record
EVALUATION OF THE CYTOGENOTOXIC EFFECTS OF ALLIUM URSINUM EXTRACT USING THE ALLIUM ASSAY
Abstract
Allium ursinum is a medicinal plant from the Alliaceae family is also used in gastronomy as a spice or the leaves can be eaten as such, in salads. For its possible use, our study aimed to determine whether, in various concentrations and at different action times, the extract of Allium ursinum has a cytotoxic effect by the standard Allium test. Concentrations of 25%, 50% and 100% of the extract obtained were tested for action times of 6 and 24 hours. For the extract, we used leaves harvested in April and subsequently determined the mass of volatile compounds from the leaves and from the extract obtained, by the loss on drying method. Biochemical determinations revealed a content of chemical substances in the extract 25 times lower than in the leaves. By comparison, the strongest inhibitory effect of mitotic cell division in the case of the extract of Allium ursinum with a treatment duration of 6 hours has the concentration of 25% and the weakest inhibitory effect of division has the concentration of 100%. Thus, in the case of treatment with Allium ursinum for a short time, the use of a concentrated extract can be recommended, due to a low dry matter content in the extract, compared to that in the leaves, as proven by biochemical tests. The strongest inhibitory effect of mitotic cell division in the case of Allium ursinum extract during the 24-hour treatment has the 25% concentration, and the weakest cytotoxic effect has the 50% concentration. The results obtained were statistically verified by the Anova test and were compared with those obtained by other researchers for aqueous extracts from plants of therapeutic and gastronomic interest. The changes in the genetic material observed under the microscope were: prophase and telophase with hypertrophied nucleolus; C-mitoses; pyknotic metaphase; telophase with micronuclei and chromatid bridge; unequal cytokinesis, with unbalanced distribution of genetic material; plasmolyzed interphase cells in which numerous chloroplasts were formed. This entitles us to suggest their use for therapeutic purposes in higher dilutions, over a long time of action.
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