Ausência de efeito tóxico-genético de morinda citrifolia (Noni) em células somáticas de drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

In the popular medicine, the juice produced from the fruit of Morinda citrifolia (Noni) is known to prevent and cure many diseases such as diabetes, diarrhea, pain, hypertension, arthritis, stress and cancer. More than 160 chemical constituents have been identified in Noni, including asperuloside, escopoletin and anthraquinones, and several vitamins and amino acids. Due to the lack of information about the possible induction of alterations in the cellular genome in the level of mutation and mitotic recombination, the genotoxicity of Noni juice was evaluated. Thus, it was applied the Somatic Mutation And Recombination Test (SMART) in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster, which allows to evaluate, simultaneously and in vivo, the mutagenic and recombinogenic effects. Using the standard cross (ST), it was obtained third-instar larvae that were treated chronically by feeding. The larvae were treated with four different concentrations of Noni juice (25, 50, 75 and 100% v/v), distilled water (negative control) and mitomycin C (positive control). After pupa eclosion, the wings trichomes of adults were analyzed, aiming the identification and quantification of phenotypic alterations. Two independent experiments were carried using two repetitions per tested concentration. The results of each experiment were statistically tested with binomial conditional test in which the different treatments were compared with the negative control. The results of both independent experiments were polled, considering that the Kruskal- Wallis test demonstrated the absence of statistic differences between both experiments. In a total of 301 individual were analysed and the results demonstrated that the Noni juice has no genetic toxicity effects in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster.