ABSTRACT
The present study aimed to assess the cytotoxic, genotoxic, and antigenotoxic activities of sucupira oil (Pterodon emarginatus), which is commonly used as an anti-rheumatic, analgesic, antimicrobial, anticercariae, and anti-inflammatory. We used the mouse bone marrow micronucleus test as an experimental model. The experimental groups, which consisted of 5 animals, was administered sucupira oil (100 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally and evaluated 24 h after the treatment. The negative control group was treated with sterile distilled water, and the positive control group received an intraperitoneal dose of 4 mg/kg mitomycin C, a dose that corresponds to 80% of its median lethal dose. Cytotoxicity was determined by the polychromatic to normochromatic erythrocytes ratio (PCE/NCE). Sucupira oil had no significant effects (P > 0.05) on the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes as compared to the negative control group. However, the difference was significant (P < 0.005) as compared to the positive control group. The PCE/NCE (100 mg/kg oil and 4 mg/kg mitomycin) ratio did not differ between the experimental group and the positive control group, but it differed significantly when compared to the negative control group (P < 0.05). Thus, these findings suggested that the P. emarginatus oil showed no cytotoxic, mutagenic, or antimutagenic activities at a dose of 100 mg/kg.
