“Aqueous extracts of Baccharis articulata: Vero cell toxicity”.

TORRES CRISTINA VANESA; ZANON SILVIA MATILDE; CARBONARI JOSÉ; DOMINGUEZ MARÍA JULIA; SABINI MARÍA CAROLA; SABINI LILIANA INÉS

TAFÍ DEL VALLE, TUCUMÁN

Congreso; XXVII JORNADAS CIENTÍFICAS; 2010

ASOCIACIÓN DE BIOLOGÍA DE TUCUMÁN

Aqueous extracts of Baccharis articulata: Vero cell toxicity Torres, C; Zanon, S; Carbonari, J; Domínguez, M; Sabini, M; Sabini, L. Dpto. Microbiol. e Inmunol., Fac.Cs.Ex.,F-Qcas y Nat., UNRC. ctorres@exa.unrc.edu.ar   Baccharis articulata (“carqueja" Asteraceae), abundant in hills of Córdoba, is used in beverages (bitter) and in folk medicine to treat digestive, respiratory and urinary disorders and in diseases skin. The interest of the population by herbal products and the increased research in the field of medicinal plants has stimulated the search of plant compounds as potential phytotherapics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential toxicity of aqueous extracts of B. articulata in Vero cells. Cold (CAE) and hot aqueous extracts (HAE) were obtained by subjecting the plant material with water at 4°C and 70ºC for 48h, respectively. Treatment of cell cultures with different concentrations of extracts allowed determine maximum non cytotoxic concentration (MNCC) by microscopic observation and, cell viability by Neutral Red uptake (NR) and MTT reduction techniques by optic density. From dose-response curves, 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) of both extracts were determined. These values were 2.4 (NR) and 2.1 mg/ml (MTT) for CAE and, 0.7 mg/ml (NR) and 0.5 mg/ml (MTT) for HAE. Microscopy examinations of treated cultures revealed MNCC values of 1 and 0.6 mg/ml for CAE and HAE, respectively. Conclusion: CAE was less cytotoxic than HAE of B. articulata. CC50 values obtained in Vero cells showed that mitochondrial activity was more affected than lysosome by both extracts.