title: Genotoxicity testing of Persicariae Rhizoma (Persicaria tinctoriaH. Gross) aqueous extracts.
abstract: Persicariae Rhizoma (PR) has been used as an anti-inflammatory and detoxification agent in Korea, and contains the biologically active dyes purple indirubin and blue indigo. Despite synthetic indigo showing genotoxic potential, thorough studies have not been carried out on the genotoxicity of PR. The potential genotoxicity of an aqueous extract of PR containing indigo (0.043%) and indirubin (0.009%) was evaluated using a standard battery of tests for safety assessment. The PR extract did not induce any genotoxic effects under the conditions of this study. The results of a reverse mutation assay in fourSalmonella typhimuriumstrains and oneEscherichia colistrain indicated that PR extract did not increase the frequency of revertant colonies in any strain, regardless of whether S9 mix was present or not. The PR extract also did not increase chromosomal aberrations in the presence or absence of S9 mix. Although slight signs of diarrhea were restrictedly detected in the mice treated with 2,000 mg/kg PR extract, no noteworthy changes in the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes were observed at doses ≤2,000 mg/kg in a bone marrow micronucleus test. These results indicate the potential safety of the PR extract, particularly if it is consumed in small amounts compared with the quantities used in the genotoxicity tests.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Histology, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38610, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Won Ho
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Histology, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38610, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seong Hun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38610, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Su Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Histology, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38610, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chang Hyun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Histology, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38610, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soo Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38610, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young Joon
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Histology, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38610, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sae Kwang
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ku
keywords: Persicaria tinctoria H. Gross; Persicariae Rhizoma; chromosomal aberration assay; genotoxicity; mouse micronucleus assay; reverse mutation assay