SAFETY OF PEANUT (Arachis hypogaea L): CYTOGENOTOXIC STUDIES AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION ANALYSIS

SABINI MC; MENIS CANDELA F; PERALTA MI; QUIROGA PL; MAÑAS F; GIORDANO W; SORIA EA

Modalidad virtual

Congreso; IV Reunión Conjunta de Sociedades de Biología de La República Argentina; 2020

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L) is an economically important legume used for direct consumption as well as for manufacturing numerous foodproducts. Argentina is one of the major peanut producers in the world and about 90% of its crop is produced in the province of Córdoba. This speciesalso has numerous medicinal properties such as antioxidant, antiviral, antitumor. The objective was to determine the in vivo toxicity and genotoxicityof the peanut seed and to analyze its chemical composition. A peanut seed ethanolic extract (SEE) was obtained by a simple alcoholic extractionmethod. A chemical analysis was carried out: the content of total phenols was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method, and the fatty acid compositionwas determined by gas chromatography; lipids were extracted with the Folch method and methylated with sodium methoxide. The separation,quantification, and identification of total FA methyl ester resultants were performed using a capillary column (20 m length × 250 mm id × 0.25 mmfilm tickness, SUPELCO) of polyethylene glycol in a Clarus500 GC and all fatty acids were identified using a commercial standard (Nu-check). Allvalues were expressed as the total percentage area. On the other hand, in vivo cytogenotoxic studies were carried out: Balb/c mice (20 g) in groups of6 animals (3 males and 3 females) were formed and inoculated with different concentrations of SEE (500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg b.w.) diluted inphysiological solution (PS) and dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO). A negative control group (25 μL of DMSO in 775 μL of PS) and a positive control(cyclophosphamide 20 mg/kg b.w.) were included. At 24 h, mice were sacrificed by decapitation and, bone marrow samples were taken from thefemur for the micronucleus test and blood for comet assay. The chemical analysis of SEE indicated a content of total phenols of 15.05 ± 0.06 mg ofGAE/g of dry extract. Linoleic acid (58.84%), oleic acid (11.31%), and palmitic acid (8.37%) were major compounds of SEE. In vivo cytogenotoxicstudies showed that SEE was not genotoxic at the concentrations evaluated by the micronucleus and comet assays. In relation to the toxic capacity,the toxicity index values revealed non-significant differences (P > 0.05) between the negative control system and the treatments of SEE (500 and1000 mg/kg), with the exception of the highest concentration of the extract (2000 mg/kg, P = 0.0003), which revealed some toxicity. In conclusion,peanut consumption is safe at concentrations recommended for healthy uses, such as nutrition, and phytomedicine.