부산대학교 도서관

To give an answer to the growing interest of consumers about the beneficial effects ontheir health of herbal preparations that are usually taken without medical prescription, we haveselected a group of medicinal plants of daily use and phenols contained in them to studycertain indicators of its possible bioactivity.Three types of plants have been selected: anti-inflammatory (Matricaria chamomilla andUncaria tomentosa), digestives (Mentha piperita and Mentha pulegium) and sedatives (Tiliacordata and Valeriana officinalis); and the phenols contained in them: Bisabolol, Apigenin,Protocatecuic Acid, Menthol, Pulegone, Quercetin, Limonene and Valerenic Acid. The selectedmarkers of bioactivity have been: (i) toxicity (being tested in the eukaryotic model Drosophilamelanogaster), (ii) genotoxicity or genomic safety (tested in the in vivo model of somaticmutations and recombinations of D. melanogaster, S.M.A.R.T.), (iii) antigenotoxicity orprotection against the genetic damage caused by oxidants agents (tested in the in vivosomatic mutations and recombinations of D. melanogaster model) and (iv) cytotoxicity orchemopreventive potential (tested in the tumor growth inhibition in vitro model of HL60human leukemia cells).All plants and tested molecules have proved to be toxic to D. melanogaster, although indifferent extent, in increasing order: V. officinalis, Valerenic Ac., Bisabolol, Limonene,Quercetin, DHBA, Menthol, T. cordata, Pulegone, M. chamomilla, Apigenin, U. tomentosa, M.pulegium, and M. piperita. In general, Tila and Valerian sedative plants as well as theircomponents studied molecules were the less toxic; and the digestive mints, the more toxic.No plant or molecule has been genotoxic in the Somatic Mutation and RecombinationTest of D. melanogaster, so they all are safe. Although some substances show high rates ofclone induction, like U. tomentosa and M. chamomilla; being others even below the negativecontrol, like the Bisabolol and Apigenin.All plants and molecules, with the exception the Pulegone, have shown protectiveactivity of the genome against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative damage. The mostpowerful are the infusions of plants, exerting the individual molecules medium or low inhibitionrates. This phenomenon suggests the existence of epigenetic interactions that can occurbetween highly oxidants endogenous elements (hydrogen peroxide) and highly antioxidantselements (phenols) acting together on the plant.