The daily
consumption of natural
antioxidants protects against
oxidative damage caused by
reactive oxygen species (ROS), including
DNA damage, and can reduce the
risk of
cancer,
atherosclerosis and other degenerative
diseases. The pulp of pequi (
Caryocar brasiliense Camb.)
fruit, a
tree native to the Brazilian savannah, contains several compounds with
antioxidant properties, including
carotenoids,
vitamin C,
phenolic compounds such as
flavonoids,
saponins and
tannins, and
essential oils. In this
work, we examined the
ability of organic and aqueous extracts of pequi
fruit pulp to protect against the
genotoxicity induced by two
antineoplastic drugs,
cyclophosphamide (CP) and
bleomycin (BLM).
Micronucleus tests with
mouse bone marrow cells and
single-cell gel electrophoresis (
comet assay) with peripheral
blood leukocytes were used to examine the effects of CP and BLM, respectively. The
antioxidant activity of the extracts was assessed by measuring
lipid peroxidation with the
TBARS method in
mouse plasma. The
fruit pulp extracts had no clastogenic or genotoxic effects in the
cells studied, but both extracts protected against
oxidative DNA damage caused by BLM or CP, indicating an
ability to inhibit chemical
mutagenesis in vivo. However, the protective effect against
oxidative DNA damage depended on the
dose of extract used. At the doses tested, the aqueous extract enhanced
lipid peroxidation in
mice of both sexes, especially in
males. In contrast, the organic extract enhanced
lipid peroxidation only in
male mice, with no significant effect in
females. These results suggest that, with adequate
adjustment of the
dose, an organic extract of pequi
fruit pulp could be a useful
dietary supplement with natural
antioxidant activity, at least in
females.