ABSTRACT
Melissa officinalis (L.) (Lamiaceae), a plant known as the lemon balm, is native to the east Mediterranean region and west Asia. Also found in tropical countries, such as Brazil, where it is popularly known as "erva-cidreira" or "melissa", it is widely used in aqueous- or alcoholic-extract form in the treatment of various disorders. The aim was to investigate in vivo its antigenotoxicity and antimutagenicity, as well as its genotoxic/mutagenic potential through comet and micronucleus assaying. CF-1 male mice were treated with ethanolic (Mo-EE) (250 or 500 mg/kg) or aqueous (Mo-AE) (100 mg/kg) solutions of an M. officinalis extract for 2 weeks, prior to treatment with saline or Methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) doses by intraperitoneal injection. Irrespective of the doses, no genotoxic or mutagenic effects were observed in blood and bone-marrow samples. Although Mo-EE exerted an antigenotoxic effect on the blood cells of mice treated with the alkylating agent (MMS) in all the doses, this was not so with Mo-AE. Micronucleus testing revealed the protector effect of Mo-EE, but only when administered at the highest dose. The implication that an ethanolic extract of M. officinalis has antigenotoxic/antimutagenic properties is an indication of its medicinal relevance.
ABSTRACT
O presente trabalho é uma revisão bibliográfica sobre tuberculose, farmacogenética e enzimas biotransformadoras. Apresenta uma visão atual sobre o que se sabe sobre essa doença e seu tratamento, entrando no campo específico da farmacogenética. Essa área, de certa forma, bem recente, traz uma nova visão para o tratamento da tuberculose, baseado no tipo de enzima bitransformadora que cada indivíduo possui, de acordo com seu genótipo. O trabalho mostrou que apesar datuberculose ser uma doença antiga, existem atualmente poucos medicamentos utilizados em seu tratamento, apresentando diversos problemas, como efeitos colateraisindesejados, tratamento prolongado e surgimento de microorganismosresistentes, sendo um importante problema de saúde pública mundial. Assim, a farmacogenética da isoniazida (um dos principais medicamentos utilizados) traz uma nova abordagem sobre esses assuntos, com o intuito de amenizar tais problemas.
This study aims to make a survey on the state knowledge related to the tuberculosis drug-metabolizing enzymes.It presents a current view of what is known about this disease and its treatment in the specific field of thepharmacogenetic. This recent area brings a new view to the treatment of tuberculosis, based on drug-metabolisingenzymes, which any individual has according to its genotype. The work showed that although being an ancientdisease, there are still few medicines used in the tuberculosis treatment, presenting several problems suchas undesirable side-effects, a long-term treatment and the emergence of resistant microorganisms becoming aworld public health problem. Thus, the pharmacogenetic of isoniazid (one of the most used medication) has broughta new approach to these issues in order to minimize such problems.