Evaluation of mutagenic, recombinogenic and carcinogenic potential of (+)-usnic acid in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster

• Published in: Food and chemical toxicology 2016-10, Vol.96, p.226-233
• Main Authors: Machado, Nayane Moreira, de Rezende, Alexandre Azenha Alves, Nepomuceno, Júlio César, Tavares, Denise Crispim, Cunha, Wilson Roberto, Spanó, Mário Antônio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Infective Agents - toxicity; Benzofurans - toxicity; Carcinogenesis - chemically induced; Carcinogens - toxicity; Drosophila melanogaster; Drosophila melanogaster - drug effects; Drosophila melanogaster - genetics; Gene wts; Larva - drug effects; Larva - genetics; Mutagenesis - drug effects; Mutagens - toxicity; Recombination, Genetic - drug effects; SMART; Somatic mutation and recombination test; Tumor; Warts; Wings, Animal - drug effects; Wings, Animal - metabolism
• ISSN: 0278-6915; 1873-6351
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2016.08.005

The main of this study was to evaluate the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of (+) – usnic acid (UA), using Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test (SMART) and the test for detecting epithelial tumor clones (wts) in Drosophila melanogaster. Larvae from 72 ± 4 h from Drosophila were fed with UA (5.0, 10.0 or 20.0 mM); urethane (10.0 mM) (positive control); and solvent (Milli-Q water, 1% Tween-80 and 3% ethanol) (negative control). ST cross produced increase in total mutant spots in the individuals treated with 5.0, 10.0 or 20.0 mM of UA. HB cross produced spot frequencies in the concentration of 5.0 mM that were higher than the frequency for the same concentration in the ST cross. In the highest concentrations the result was negative, which means that the difference observed can be attributed, in part, to the high levels of P450, suggesting that increasing the metabolic capacity maximized the toxic effect of these doses. In the evaluation of carcinogenesis using the wts test, the results obtained for the same concentrations of UA show a positive result for the presence of tumors when compared to the negative control. We conclude that UA has recombinogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects on somatic cells in D. melanogaster. •The mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of the enantiomer (+) – usnic acid (UA) was studied in vivo.•Usnic acid has mutagenic and recombinogenic action in standard and high-bioactivation crosses.•Increasing the metabolic capacity increases the toxic effect of (+) – usnic acid (UA).