Evaluation of cytotoxicity induced by organic extracts of Achyrocline satureioides in vero cells

SABINI C; CARIDDI LN; ESCOBAR F; SUTIL S; CONTIGIANI M; ZANON S; SABINI LI

Congreso; XXVII Jornadas Científicas, Asociación de Biología de Tucumán; 2010

Achyrocline satureioides (‘marcela del campo’, Asteraceae), native of South America, presents pharmacological, therapeutic and medicinal properties. Consequetly, it is important to study its toxicity to provide a safety framework and define a selective action. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxic action of organic extracts from A. satureioides on Vero cells. Organic extracts (OE): n-hexane (N-H), chloroform (CL) and methanol (M) were obtained. Cells were exposed to increasing concentrations of OE (5-1 mg/ mL) in DMSO at 1% (v/v) at 37ºC for 48h. Maximum non-cytotoxic concentration (MNCC) was determined microscopically by daily observations. CC50 was determined by neutral red uptake (NR) and MTT assays. Statistical analysis was performed. For CL, values of MNCC and CC50 by RN and MTT were 40, 120 and 149 μg/ mL, respectively. For M, values were 50, 105 and 109 μg/mL. Cytotoxic values of N-H were not determined. Each extract had similar values of CC50 by RN and MTT, indicating a similar sensitivity of both colorimetric techniques. The chemical components of extracts responsible for the toxicity would simultaneouly damage mitochondria and lysosomes. These results are fundamental to define selectivity of action of the extracts in antimicrobial treatments and particularly in antiviral activity studies.