title: Evaluation of Safety of Arrabidaea chica Verlot (Bignoniaceae), a Plant with Healing Properties.
abstract: Arrabidaea chica Verlot (Bignoniaceae) has been used as a medicinal herb to treat anemia, hemorrhage, inflammation, intestinal colic, hepatitis, and skin infections in the Brazilian Amazon region. Studies have demonstrated the healing properties of extracts obtained from A. chica leaves, which contain anthocyanins and flavonoids. However, few investigations have assessed the safe use of this plant species. In this study, mutagenic and genotoxic effects of a crude aqueous extract, a butanolic fraction, and aqueous waste from A. chica leaves were evaluated using the Salmonella/microsome assay in TA98, TA97a, TA100, TA102, and TA1535 strains and the alkaline comet assay in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture with and without metabolic activation. The crude aqueous extract, butanolic fraction, and aqueous waste were not mutagenic in any of the Salmonella typhimurium strains tested, and showed negative responses for genotoxicity in CHO cells. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis indicated the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoids such as rutin and luteolin. The lack of mutagenic/genotoxic effects might be due to phytochemical composition with high concentrations of known anti-inflammatory compounds. Thus, the crude aqueous extract, butanolic fraction, and aqueous waste from A. chica leaves do not appear to pose short-term genotoxic risks.
authors.affiliation: a Laboratório de Genética Toxicológica , Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) , Canoas , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.|b Laboratório TOXIGEN , Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) , Canoas , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.
authors.forename: Tiago Farret
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Gemelli
authors.affiliation: a Laboratório de Genética Toxicológica , Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) , Canoas , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.
authors.forename: Lismare da Silva
authors.initials: Lda S
authors.lastname: Prado
authors.affiliation: a Laboratório de Genética Toxicológica , Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) , Canoas , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.
authors.forename: Franciele Souza
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: b Laboratório TOXIGEN , Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) , Canoas , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Paula
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.affiliation: c Centro de Biotecnologia , Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) , Porto Alegre , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.
authors.forename: Temenouga Nikolova
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Guecheva
authors.affiliation: c Centro de Biotecnologia , Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) , Porto Alegre , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.
authors.forename: João Antonio Pêgas
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Henriques
authors.affiliation: d Laboratório de Fitoquímica , Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) , Canoas , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandre de Barros Falcão
authors.initials: Ade B
authors.lastname: Ferraz
authors.affiliation: e Centro Petroquímico de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (CEPPED) , Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) , Canoas , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.
authors.forename: Dione Silva
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Corrêa
authors.affiliation: b Laboratório TOXIGEN , Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) , Canoas , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafael Rodrigues
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Dihl
authors.affiliation: a Laboratório de Genética Toxicológica , Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) , Canoas , Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil.
authors.forename: Jaqueline Nascimento
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Picada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D029402:Bignoniaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D016466:CHO Cells; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D020552:Comet Assay; D003412:Cricetulus; D004249:DNA Damage; D008861:Microsomes / Q000187:drug effects; D009153:Mutagens / Q000494:pharmacology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D009153:Mutagens; D010936:Plant Extracts