1. Protective Effects of Silymarin and Silibinin against DNA Damage in Human Blood Cells.
- Author
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Fernandes Veloso Borges F, Ribeiro E Silva C, Moreira Goes W, Ribeiro Godoy F, Craveiro Franco F, Hollanda Véras J, Luiz Cardoso Bailão EF, de Melo E Silva D, Gomes Cardoso C, Divino da Cruz A, and Chen-Chen L
- Subjects
- Antioxidants pharmacology, Cells, Cultured, Cytoprotection drug effects, Down-Regulation drug effects, Flavonoids pharmacology, Gene Expression drug effects, Humans, Silybum marianum chemistry, Up-Regulation drug effects, Blood Cells drug effects, DNA Damage drug effects, Protective Agents pharmacology, Silybin pharmacology, Silymarin pharmacology
- Abstract
Silymarin (SM), a standardized extract derived from Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn, is primarily composed of flavonolignans, with silibinin (SB) as its major active constituent. The present study aimed to evaluate the antigenotoxic activities of SM and SB using the alkaline comet assay in whole blood cells and to assess their effects on the expression of genes associated with carcinogenesis and chemopreventive processes. Different concentrations of SM or SB (1.0, 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 mg/ml) were used in combination with the DNA damage-inducing agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS, 800 μ M) to evaluate their genoprotective potential. To investigate the role of SM and SB in modulating gene expression, we performed quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis of five genes that are known to be involved in DNA damage, carcinogenesis, and/or chemopreventive mechanisms. Treatment with SM or SB was found to significantly reduce the genotoxicity of MMS, upregulate the expression of PTEN and BCL2 , and downregulate the expression of BAX and ABL1 . We observed no significant changes in ETV6 expression levels following treatment with SM or SB. In conclusion, both SM and SB exerted antigenotoxic activities and modulated the expression of genes related to cell protection against DNA damage.
- Published
- 2018
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