ABSTRACT
Introduction: Helenium cf. amarum (Raf.) H. Rock is a plant of the family Asteraceae. Its common name is yellow camomile. It is used as tranquilizer, stimulant and digestive, and for the treatment of nausea, fever and skin disorders. Objectives: carry out a phytochemical screening and evaluate the cytotoxic and genotoxic effect of a crude hydroalcoholic extract of Helenium amarum using the Allium cepa test. Methods: seeds of Allium cepa were subjected to germination at four concentrations (0.6, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 mg/ml) of H. amarum crude leaf extract. After being dried in an oven for 5 days, they were pulverized and macerated in 70 % ethanol at room temperature for 72 hours. The extract was then filtered and the liquid phase subjected to a rotary evaporator. Two sorts of treatment were applied: 1) continuous treatment: the seeds were germinated directly in the extract at different concentrations. 2) intermittent treatment: the seeds were first germinated in Milli-Q water until they grew 2 cm long rootlets, and were then exposed to different extract concentrations. Results: the germination rate was affected by extract concentration, and was lower than that of the negative control in all treatments. The mitotic index for all concentrations was lower than that of controls for both treatments. In batch processing, the aneugenic effects index at the assayed concentrations was lower than that of controls, whereas the clastogenic index was 1 % for the control and treatments 1 and 3 mg/ml, lower than 1 % for treatments 0.6 and 2 mg/ml, and 20 % for the positive control. Phytochemical screening showed positive results for tannins and steroids. Conclusions: Helenium amarum has toxic and cytotoxic effects and allelopathic action, but not genotoxic effects at the assayed concentrations.