Resumen

PAOLA VERA, Antonia; OLIVERO V, Jesús T.; JARAMILLO, Beatriz E.  y  STASHENKO, Elena. The protective effect of essential oil from Lippia alba (Mill) N.E.: Brown on the mercurochrome toxicity in roots of Allium cepa L.. Rev Cubana Plant Med [online]. 2010, vol.15, n.1. ISSN 1028-4796.

INTRODUCTION: within the great variety of natural resources and that different studies report its medicinal properties, is the Lippia alba (Mill) N.E. brown plant which is a aromatic bush belonging to Verbenaceae family to come from tropical America. Known in Colombia as soon relieve, it has many medicinal properties as antispasmodic, carminative, digestive, diuretic, expectorant, laxative, sedative, somniferous, sudoriferous, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiulcerative and anticonvulsant. OBJECTIVE: authors assessed the protective effect of essential oil obtained from stem and fresh leaves of L. alba on the mercurochrome toxicity on A. cepa roots. Mercurochrome (10, 250 and 500µM showed a toxic effect on the meristic cells of A. cepa. Oil (100 µM) had a protective effect demonstrated by AC decrease and an increase of the length and weight of roots exposed to mercurochrome (10 and 500 µM). METHODS: the parameters assessed include the mitotic rate alteration, radicular growth inhibition and chromosome induction in the absence and in the presence of essential oil. RESULTS: mercurochrome (10, 250 and 500 µM had a toxic effect on meristic cells from A. cepa. Oil (100 µM) had a protective effect demonstrated by decrease of chromosomal aberrations, as well as an increase of length and weight of roots exposed to mercurochrome (10 and 500 µM. CONCLUSIONS: data showed in present research suggest that there was a decrease of chromosomal aberrations appearing due to exposition of A. cepa meristic cells to mercurochrome indicating a protective or anti-genotoxic effect of essential oil of L. alba.

Palabras clave : essential oil; Allium cepa; meristic cells; radicular growth; protective effect; genotoxicity; mitotic rate; Lippia alba Mill N.E. Brown; mercurochrome.

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