Acrocomia aculeata previne danos toxicogenéticos causados pelo agente antitumoral ciclofosfamida

Abstract

Acrocomia aculeate extract is known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and also anti-diabetic and diuretic potential. In this study we aimed to evaluate the (anti) genotoxic, (anti) mutagenic, immunomodulatory and apoptotic potential of the extract in combination with cyclophosphamide. 140 male Swiss mice were divided into eight groups as follows: negative control, positive control (Cyclophosphamide - 100 mg / kg); groups which received solely the extract from the nut (NE) and the pulp (PE) (3, 15 and 30 mg / kg) and the combination groups (cyclophosphamide + PE or NE extract). All groups were assessed in the protocols of pre-treatment, simultaneous and post-treatment. Results indicates that both extracts are not genotoxic nor mutagenic. The extracts exerted chemopreventive activity at all tested doses and protocols, with damage reduction percentages that reached 88.19 and 90.03% for the comet assay and 69.73 and 70.93% for the micronucleus assay, for NE and PE, respectively. Regarding the immunomodulatory assays, both extracts demonstrated to cause low apoptotic events and it was found that they can reduce the ability of cyclophosphamide to cause apoptosis in cells of the liver, spleen and kidney. Facing the above, it appears that the extracts of A. aculeata can be considered as an functional / nutraceutical food with chemopreventive characteristics. However, the extracts are likely not to be an adjuvant for chemotherapy, especially for use in combination with the anti-tumor agent cyclophosphamide.