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•Subchronic toxicity of M. verticillata essential oil was studied.•The essential oil not induced 90-day toxicity and genotoxicity effect on Wistar rats.•The essential oil appears to ...be safe and could be devoid of any toxic risk.
Minthostachys verticillata (Lamiaceae), popularly known as peperina is largely used in popular medicine for its digestive, carminative, antispasmodic and antirheumatic properties. There are no reports of repeated exposure toxicity to guarantee their safety. The present study investigated the chemical composition, analyzed by GC–FID, and the 90-day toxicity and genotoxicity effect of M. verticillata essential oil (Mv-EO), using Wistar rats as test animals. The rats were divided into four groups (5rats/sex/group) and Mv-EO was administered on diet at doses of 0, 1, 4 and 7g/kg feed. The main components of Mv-EO were pulegone (64.65%) and menthone (23.92%). There was no mortality, adverse effects on general conditions or changes in body weight, food consumption and feed conversion efficiency throughout the study in male and female rats. Subchronic administration of Mv-EO did not alter the weights, morphological and histopathological analyses of liver, kidney and intestine. Genotoxicity was tested by micronucleus and comet assays. Mv-EO up to a concentration of 7g/kg feed for 90days did not exert a cyto-genotoxic effect on the bone marrow and cells blood of Wistar rats. These results suggest that Mv-EO appears to be safe and could be devoid of any toxic risk.
► Toxicity and chemical composition of Minthostachys verticillata essential oil were studied. ► The main compounds were pulegone, menthone and limonene. ► The essential oil not induced cytotoxic ...effect both on Vero cell and human PBMCs. ► The oil not induced apoptosis on human PBMCs nor genotoxicity on erythrocytes of mice. ► The results suggest this species appears to be a safe therapeutic agent.
Minthostachys verticillata (peperina) is an aromatic and medicinal plant with several uses and ethnobotanical properties. Numerous studies have demonstrated that its essential oil (Mv-EO) presents antimicrobial capacity and shows immunomodulating and anti-allergic properties in human cell lines. Thus, the goal of this study was to investigate the main chemical composition, analyzed by GC–FID, and the cyto-genotoxic effects of Mv-EO, using Vero cells, human PBMCs and mice bone marrow cells. The Mv-EO was rich in pulegone 60.5% and menthone 18.2%. Our results clearly show that Mv-EO is not cyto-genotoxic in vitro nor in vivo. It not induced cytotoxic effects, as indicated by trypan blue dye exclusion and NRU assays both in Vero cells and human PBMCs. In addition, Mv-EO (100–1000μg/mL) not induced apoptotic effects on human PBMCs, as indicated by Hoechst staining and DNA fragmentation analysis by agarose gel electrophoresis. The in vivo assay showed that Mv-EO (25–500mg/kg) not increased the frequency of micronucleus in bone marrow cells of mice. Further, the ratio of polychromatic/normochromatic erythrocytes was not modified. These findings suggest that Mv-EO appears to be safe as a therapeutic agent.
Achyrocline satureioides (Asteraceae) is a medicinal plant traditionally used in Argentina for the treatment of intestinal infections and various digestive disorders. Its infusion is widely utilised ...for respiratory problems and viral infections. The objective of this study was to investigate cytotoxicity, virucidal and antiviral properties of the cold aqueous extract (CAE) and hot aqueous extract (HAE) of this plant against Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV). Cytotoxicity in Vero cells was evaluated by maximum non-cytotoxic concentration (MNCC), neutral red (NR) uptake and MTT reduction methods. To study the antiviral activity of aqueous extracts, plaque reduction assay was performed after pre-treatment of host cells, adsorption, penetration and post-penetration of the virus. Extracellular virus inactivation was also analysed by the same method. Extracts showed strong inhibitory activity after virus penetration with selective index values of 32 (NR) and 63.3 (MTT) for the CAE, and 16.2 (NR) and 24.3 (MTT) for the HAE. Both extracts exhibited virucidal action with lower efficacy than their antiviral properties. The present results demonstrate that aqueous extracts of A. satureioides are active against WEEV. Further studies are needed in order to identify which compounds could be responsible for this effect, and how they exert antiviral action.
The methanolic extract of Verbascum thapsus was evaluated for its antiviral activity against the pseudorabies virus strain RC/79 (PrV), and also for its cytotoxic activity on Vero cells. The extract ...showed CC
50
values of 1100 µg mL
−1
and 1426 µg mL
−1
by NRU and MTT assays, respectively. The 50% inhibitory concentration of the extract for PrV plaque formation was determined at 35 µg mL
−1
, and selectivity indices were 31.4 (NRU) and 40.7 (MTT). When cells were pre-treated with the extract prior to virus infection, the inhibition in plaque formation was 70%. PrV was highly inhibited when it was incubated with plant extract or when the extract was added during the adsorption phase (99%). However, no inhibitory effect was observed when the extract was added to the cells after the adsorption period. Thus, these results suggest that the methanolic extract of Verbascum thapsus may contain bioactive compound(s) that affect PrV mostly in the adsorption phase.
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Achyrocline satureioides (Lam.) DC. Asteraceae, ‘marcela del campo’, possess several pharmacological properties. Previously we reported antiviral activity of an aqueous extract of A. ...satureioides against an alphavirus, Western Equine Encephalitis virus. Alphaviruses are highly virulent pathogens which cause encephalitis in humans and equines. There are no effective antiviral to treat its infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro cytotoxic and antiviral activities against Western Equine Encephalitis virus of five water extract chromatographic fractions from A. satureioides and identify the main compounds of the bioactive fraction. Also, it was to assess in vivo cytogenotoxic ability of the active fraction. Cytotoxicity studies revealed low toxicity of the most of fractions in Vero and in equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Antiviral studies showed that the water crude extract – Sephadex LH 20 – fraction 3 MeOH–H2O (Fraction 3) was active against Western Equine Encephalitis virus with Effective Concentration 50%=5μg/ml. Selectivity Indices were 126.0 on Vero and 133.6 on peripheral blood mononuclear cells, four times higher than aqueous extract selectivity index. Regarding the mechanism of action we demonstrated that F3 exerted its action in intracellular replication stages. Further, fraction 3 showed important virucidal action. Fraction 3 contains, in order of highest to lowest: chlorogenic acid, luteolin, 5,7,8-trimethoxyflavone, 3-O-methylquercetin and caffeic acid. Fraction 3 did not induce in vivo toxic nor mutagenic effect. Therefore, it is safe its application as antiviral potential. Further studies of antiviral activity in vivo will be developed using a murine model.
Baccharis articulata is native of América and traditionally used for the treatment of digestive disorders and urinary infections. Cytotoxicity of aqueous extracts of B. articulata was investigated in ...Vero cells. As the maximal non cytotoxic concentration has been established, this concentration has been used to evaluate antiviral and virucidal activities against Herpes suis virus type 1, member of the same subfamily of Herpes simplex virus. Aqueous extracts of B. articulata exhibited more than 95% of virucidal activity. These findings support their potential application as a disinfectant or antiseptic with low toxicity and provide a valuable knowledge to ethnopharmacology properties of Baccharis articulata.
Verbascum thapsus L. is a medicinal plant and has been used to treat numerous pulmonary diseases, asthma, inflammatory disease, spasmodic coughs and migraine headaches. Several studies have ...demonstrated that different extracts of V. thapsus present antimicrobial activity. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic and cytotoxic activities of a methanolic extract of Verbascum thapsus, using micronucleus test in mouse bone marrow. No toxicity in bone marrow was detected in the extract-treated groups. The methanolic extract of V. thapsus at doses of 100, 300 and 500 mg / kg, did not produce a significant increase in the frequency of MNPCE in bone marrow and neither altered the relationship PCE / NCE respect to negative control. These cytogenotoxic findings contribute the preclinical knowledge of methanolic extract of V. thapsus and provide security in its use as herbal medicine.
Mitogenic and antigenic lymphocyte stimulation was examined in pigs that had been immunized with 2 inactivated vaccines which had been prepared with Aujesky's disease virus (ADV), strain RC/79. One ...vaccine was partially purified by ultra-centrifugation (Vaccine A) the other one was not (Vaccine B). A second dose of vaccine had no influence over the blastogenic response when the lymphocytes were stimulated with phytohemoagglutinin (PHA). Lymphocyte response to the ADV antigen in the immunized pigs was significantly higher at day 30 post inoculation than at day 0 indicating that it was highly specific. Cellular antigens contained in the viral cultures produced a slight non-specific response as shown by a low increase in the levels of lymphocyte blastic transformation (LBT) in the control group at day 30 p.i., this group only received a non infected Vero cell suspension. This was the case in pigs that received vaccine A as well as in those that were vaccinated with vaccine B. Vaccine B contains a greater quantity of contaminating cellular antigens, since it is an impure vaccine. Such antigens could act as non-specific immunomodulators, potentiating cell-mediated immunity (CMI). This assay demonstrated that inactivated vaccines produced with VPR-RC/79, partially purified and unpurified are capable of inducing a humoral immune response. The blastogenic reaction of the peripheral blood lymphocytes to antigens of ADV strain RC/79, indicated that the employed immunogens also induced the CMI. Results indicate that the analyzed immunogens could be considered for the possible implementation of epidemiological measures, which imply the use of vaccines to prevent pseudo-rabies in Argentina.
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