title: The SCE-inducing potency of the furoquinoline alkaloid, gamma-fagarine, and a gamma-fagarine-containing tincture from Rutae Herba, in cultured human lymphocytes.
abstract: gamma-Fagarine, a furoquinoline alkaloid naturally occurring in Rutae Herba induces sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in human lymphocyte cultures in a dose-dependent manner. The alkaloid is a direct-acting but weak SCE inducer. Similar direct but weak activity was detected in a sample of a commercial Rutae Tinctura which contained 68 micrograms/ml of gamma-fagarine. The strong toxicity of the tincture makes it difficult to test a broader concentration range. There is some evidence that the SCE-inducing activity of the tincture is mainly due to the presence of gamma-fagarine.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Botanik und Pharmazeutische Biologie, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, FRG.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Schimmer
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Leimeister
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008214:Lymphocytes; D019684:Magnoliopsida; D008297:Male; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000633:toxicity*; D011804:Quinolines / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011804:Quinolines; D000431:Ethanol; C049193:gamma-fagarine