Baccharin is one of the major chemical compounds isolated from the aerial parts of Baccharis dracunculifolia DC (Asteraceae), a native plant of South America and the most important botanical source of the Brazilian green propolis that has been used in alternative medicine to treat inflammation, liver disorders, and stomach ulcers. The present study was carried out in V79 cells to determine the possible genotoxic and antigenotoxic activities of baccharin utilizing comet and micronucleus assays, where 2 known mutagenic agents with different mechanisms of DNA damage were used as positive controls. The V79 cells were treated with concentrations of baccharin (0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 μg/mL) and for to investigate the antigenotoxicity these concentrations were associated with methyl methanesulfonate (MMS; 200 μM-comet assay and 400 μM-micronucleus assay) or hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2;) 50 μM-comet assay and 100 μM-micronucleus assay). Statistically significant differences in the rate of DNA damage were observed in cultures treated with the highest concentration of baccharin when compared to the control group, but this difference was not found in the micronucleus assay. The results also showed that the frequencies of DNA damage and micronuclei induced by MMS and H(2)O(2) were significantly reduced after treatment with baccharin. The baccharin showed a chemoprevention effect and can be the chemical compound responsible for the antigenotoxicity also demonstrated by the B. dracunculifolia. The antioxidant potential of baccharin may be related to its chemoprevention activity induced against both genomic and chromosomal damages.
© 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®