Licania rigida leaf extract: Protective effect on oxidative stress, associated with cytotoxic, mutagenic and preclinical aspects

ABSTRACT

Brazilian plant biodiversity is a rich alternative source of bioactive compounds since plant-derived extracts and/or their secondary metabolites exhibit potential properties to treat several diseases. In this context, Licania rigida Benth (Chrysobalanaceae Family), a large evergreen tree distributed in Brazilian semi-arid regions, deserves attention for its widespread use in popular medicine, although its biological properties are still poorly studied. The aim of this study was to examine (1) acute and sub-chronic oral toxicity at 2000 mg/kg dose; (2) in vitro cytotoxicity at 0.1; 1; 10; 100 or 1000 µg/ml; (3) in vivo mutagenicity at 5, 10 or 20 mg/ml, and (4) potential antioxidant protective effect of L. rigida aqueous leaf extract of (AELr). No marked apparent toxic and genotoxic effects were observed using in vitro and in vivo assays after in vitro treatment of Chinese hamster ovary cell line (CHO-K1) with AELr or in vivo exposure of Wistar rats and Drosophila melanogaster to different extract concentrations. Concerning the antioxidant effect, the extract exhibited a protective effect by decreasing lipid peroxidation as determined by malondialdehyde levels. No significant changes were observed for glutathione (GSH) levels and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Data demonstrate the beneficial potential of AELr to be employed for therapeutic purposes. However, further studies are required to validate the pharmacological application of this plant extract to develop as a phytotherapeutic formulation.

KEYWORDS:

• Licania rigida extract
• oiticica
• oxidative stress
• toxicity

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the Brazilian Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for postgraduation fellowship (Finance Code 001). Banco do Nordeste (Grant No. 912011) and Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (Grant No. 397/2020) for funding research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability

The data are available in the following link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/170T0CQEkAVI723DF24Y0JtT-ZEcyxtgcAloOS-3qifw/edit#gid=0

Additional information

Funding

This project received financial support from Banco do Nordeste (Grant nº Banco do Nordeste do Brasil 912011) and Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (Grant No. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte 397/2020).