Browsing by Author "Torrejais, Joana"
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- Evaluation of chemopreventive effects of a hexanic extract prepared from Morinda citrifolia fruitsPublication . Torrejais, Joana; Pinhão, Mariana; Guidoti, David Teixeira; Silva, Maria JoãoThe identification of bioactive natural compounds that are able to reduce the deleterious health effects of toxicants is of utmost importance. One of these toxicants is patulin (PAT), a common mycotoxin affecting fruits’ integrity and representing a serious health concern. Morinda citrifolia (noni) is a tropical plant that has been used in traditional medicine mainly for its therapeutic properties. This work intended to explore the chemopreventive properties of the noni fruit, using an hexanic extract prepared and characterized in Brazil. The potential capacity of the noni extract to reduce the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of three compounds with dissimilar modes of action – PAT, ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) – was evaluated in a liver-derived human cell line (HepG2 cells) through the MTT and the Comet assays, respectively. The results showed that cells’ pre-exposure to the extract followed by co-exposure to PAT, EMS or H2O2 was able to significantly reduce the level of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity induced by the toxicants alone. When compared to caffeic acid, a recognized antioxidant, the noni extract revealed a capacity to reduce both patulinand H2O2-induced cytotoxicity, suggesting that its chemopreventive properties do not rely exclusively on an antioxidant potential. In conclusion, this study showed that the hexanic fraction of the Morinda citrifolia fruit displays a promising chemopreventive action against several toxic agents that deserves further investigation. The properties of other noni fruit fractions or extracts from other parts of the plant (e.g., leaves and roots) also need to be explored.
- Evaluation of Morinda citrifolia chemopreventive effects against patulinPublication . Torrejais, Joana; Mathias, Maria da Luz; Silva, Maria JoãoMorinda citrifolia (noni) is a tropical plant that has been studied for its content of phenolic compounds, which display antioxidant properties. Patulin (PAT) is one of the most common mycotoxins, frequently found in apples, representing a serious health because of its genotoxic effects that are mainly mediated by the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, it is of utmost importance to identify bioactive natural compounds able to reduce the deleterious effects of patulin and other mycotoxins, in order to protect the human health. On the other hand, ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) is a model alkylating agent inducing mostly point mutations and H2O2 is a model oxidant agent. This work intended to explore the chemopreventive properties of a noni fruit hexanic extract prepared in Brazil. Its potential capacity to reduce the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of three compounds with dissimilar modes of action (MoA) – PAT, EMS and H2O2- was evaluated in a liver-derived human cell line (HepG2 cell line) through the MTT and the Comet assays, respectively. In order to comparatively analyze the antioxidant potency of the noni fruit hexanic extract, an antioxidant model (caffeic acid) was tested for the same parameters against PAT and H2O2. The results showed that cells pre-exposure to the extract followed by co-exposure to PAT, EMS and H2O2 was able to significantly reduce the level of cytotoxicity induced by the toxicants alone. A similar trend was verified for the genotoxicity studies. When compared to caffeic acid, the noni fruit hexanic extract was more efficient against patulin- and less against H2O2 –induced cytotoxicity, suggesting that patulin-induced damage is not only caused by oxidative stress. In conclusion, this study showed that the hexanic fraction of Morinda citrifolia fruit displays a chemopreventive action against several toxic agents. New studies must be made on the future, with different fractions, other parts of the plant (leaves and roots), and different cell lines.
- Evaluation of Morinda citrofolia chemopreventive effects against patulinPublication . Torrejais, Joana; Guidoti, David; Pinhão, Mariana; Silva, Maria JoãoMorinda citrofolia (noni), is a tropical plant that has been studied for its content of phenolic compounds, which display antioxidant properties. Although many authors have shown that fruit pulp is the part of noni plant richer in those compounds, all parts (leaves, rods and stem) are being used as traditional medicines in tropical countries. Patulin (PAT) is one of the most common mycotoxins, frequently found in spoiled fruits (apples), moldy feeds and stored cheese, representing a serious health concern because of its genotoxic, carcinogenic, neurotoxic and teratogenic effects that are mainly mediated by the formation of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to identify bioactive natural compounds able to reduce the deleterious effects of patulin and other mycotoxins, in order to protect the human health. This is a particularly relevant concern in tropical regions where food contamination with mycotoxins has a strong negative impact on human health. On the other hand, ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) is a model alkylating agent inducing mostly point mutations. This work intended to explore the chemopreventive properties of a noni fruit hexanic extract prepared in Brazil.