Nowadays, healthy eating is increasing the demand of functional foods by societies as sources of bioactive products with healthy qualities. For this reason, we tested the safety of the consumption of Borago officinalis L. and its main phenolic components as well as the possibility of its use as a nutraceutical plant to help in cancer prevention. The in vivo Drosophila Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test (SMART) and in vitro HL-60 human cell systems were performed, as well-recognized methods for testing genotoxicity/cytotoxicity of bioactive compounds and plant products. B. officinalis and the tested compounds possess antigenotoxic activity. Moreover, B. officinalis wild type cultivar exerts the most antigenotoxic values. Cytotoxic effect was probed for both cultivars with IC50 values of 0.49 and 0.28 mg · mL(-1) for wild type and cultivated plants respectively, as well as their constituent rosmarinic acid and the assayed phenolic mixture (IC50 = 0.07 and 0.04 mM respectively). B. officinalis exerts DNA protection and anticarcinogenic effects as do its component rosmarinic acid and the mixture of the main phenolics presented in the plant. In conclusion, the results showed that B. officinalis may represent a high value plant for pleiotropic uses and support its consumption as a nutraceutical plant.
Keywords: Borago officinalis; HL-60; SMART; cancer prevention; dietary bioactives; health; safety; vegetables.