Toxicity assessment of hypericum olympicum subsp. olympicum l. on human lymphocytes and breast cancer cell lines

Abstract

There is a limited number of studies about the constituents of Hypericum olympicum subsp. olympicum and its genotoxic and cytotoxic potency. We examined the possible antigenotoxic/genotoxic properties of methanolic extract of H. olympicum subsp. olympicum (HOE) on human lymphocytes by employing sister chromatid exchange, micronucleus and comet assay and analyzed its chemical composition by GCxGC-TOF/MS. The anti-growth activity against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines was assessed by using the ATP viability assay. Cell death mode was investigated with fluorescence staining and ELISA assays. The major components of the flower and trunk were determined as eicosane, heptacosane, 2-propen-1-ol, hexahydrofarnesyl acetone and alpha-muurolene. HOE caused significant DNA damage at selected doses (250-750 mu g/ml) while chromosomal damage was observed at higher concentrations (500 and 750 mu g/ml). HOE demonstrated anti-growth activity in a dose-dependent manner between 3.13-100 mu g/ml. Pyknotic nuclei were observed at 100 mu g/ml concentration of HOE in both cell lines. In conclusion, HOE demonstrated cytotoxic effects in a cell type-dependent manner, however its genotoxic effects were observed at relatively higher doses.