Radio – Protective Activity of Mentha Piperita Extract: In Vitro Analysis of Amelioration of Ionizing Radiation Induced DNA Damage

Abstract

Human exposure to radiation occurs in many forms, including cancer treatment, diagnosis, food sterilization, etc. Accidental exposures to radiation have also been reported, for example incidences like Fukushima or Chernobyl. Generally, any radiation above a certain level can be harmful to human due to its effect on biological systems like Central Nervous System, respiratory, and other normal healthy cells. In order to prevent these effects, radioprotective agents are required. Till now only two radioprotective drugs have been approved by FDA (Amiphostine and Palifermin), but these have side effects too. Hence, there is a need to explore naturally available sources as radio protectors. It is well known that free radicals can cause DNA damage. As flavonoids from plants can act as potent free radical scavengers, they can yield in production of ideal radio protectors. Mentha piperita (peppermint) which is rich in flavonoids such as luteolin, eriocitrin, hesperidin, rosmaniric acid, etc. was chosen for this study. Two different concentration of the ethanolic extract of M. piperita were used 7μl and 10μl. An in vitro assessment of Radioprotective effect of this extract was carried out, the laboratory end points were: Cytokinesis Blocked Micro-Nucleus assay & COMET assay (Single cell gel electrophoresis) to assess the effect on DNA damage. The study conducted indicates that M. piperita extract may be used as a potential radioprotective agent. It suggests that higher concentration of the extract shows significant reduction of DNA damage.