Journal of Ethnopharmacology 127 (2010) 558–560 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Ethnopharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jethpharm Ethnopharmacological communication Genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects of Hemidesmus indicus R. Br. root extract in cultured lymphocytes R. Ananthi, N. Chandra ∗ , S.T. Santhiya, A. Ramesh Dr. ALMPGIBMS, University of Madras, Taramani Campus, Chennai 600113, Tamil Nadu, India article info Article history: Received 27 July 2008 Received in revised form 7 October 2009 Accepted 27 October 2009 Available online 5 November 2009 Keywords: Hemidesmus indicus Sister chromatid exchanges Chromosomal aberrations Cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay Genotoxicity Antigenotoxicity abstract Aim of the study: The genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of the ethanolic extract of Hemidesmus indicus roots were evaluated in cultured human lymphocytes using cisplatin as the positive mutagen. Materials and methods: Cytogenetic damage and cytotoxicity were determined in cells exposed to different doses of the extract, ranging from 2 to 32 g/ml of culture medium, either alone or together with cisplatin. Results: There was a significant reduction in cisplatin-induced frequencies of sister chromatid exchanges, chromosome aberrations and micronucleated binucleate cells at the lower concentrations of 4 and 8 g/ml (P < 0.05). However, the extract by itself reduced the proliferative rate index, mitotic index and cytokinesis-block proliferative index (P < 0.05). Further, a significant increase in the percentage of chromosome aberrations was noticed at the higher concentrations. Conclusion: Hemidesmus indicus root extract possesses significant genoprotective effect at the lower concentrations although it is cytotoxic and probably genotoxic at higher doses. © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The roots of Hemidesmus indicus Linn. R. Br. (Family Asclepi- adaceae), also known as Indian sarsaparilla or Anantamul, were collected during summer from Irula Tribal Women’s Welfare Society, Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, India. The plant was authenticated at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany, Univer- sity of Madras, where a voucher specimen (CASB H-6) is preserved. Hemidesmus indicus has been widely used in Ayurveda in the treatment of various diseases including leprosy, leucoderma, leuc- orrhoea, syphilis, rheumatism, asthma and bronchitis. It has also been used as a blood purifier against snake bite in traditional medicine and in soft drinks (Nadkarni, 1954; Kirtikar and Basu, 1984). The extracts of H. indicus roots have been reported to possess several pharmacological properties and the important constituents include pregnane glycosides, tannins, saponins, resin acid, lupeol acetate, -sitosterol, amyrins, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-benzoic acid and triterpenes (Aneja et al., 2008; Austin, 2008; George et al., 2008). The methanolic extract was recently shown to protect plasmid DNA from radiation-induced strand breaks and rat liver microso- mal membranes from lipid peroxidation (Shetty et al., 2005). Aqil ∗ Corresponding author at: Dr. ALMPGIBMS, Genetics, University of Madras, Tara- mani Campus, Chennai 600113, Tamil Nadu, India. Tel.: +91 44 24547065; fax: +91 44 24540709. E-mail address: chandrarsn@yahoo.co.in (N. Chandra). et al. (2008) also observed the methanolic extract of Hemidesmus indicus to inhibit His+ revertants from 18.51% to 82.66% against methyl methanesulphonate and sodium azide-induced mutagenic- ity in Salmonella tester strains TA 97a, TA 100, TA 102 and TA 104. This paper reports the genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of the ethanolic extract of Hemidesmus indicus roots against cisplatin- induced cytogenetic damage in cultured human lymphocytes. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Chemicals RPMI 1640 medium, fetal bovine serum and phytohemagg- lutinin-M (Gibco); Hoechst 33258 (CAS 23491-45-4), 5-bromo-2- deoxyuridine (BrdU) (CAS 59-14-3), Cisplatin (CAS 15663-27-1) and Cytochalasin-B (CAS 14930-96-2) (Sigma). All other chemicals and reagents were of analytical grade. 2.2. Preparation of extract 50 g of shade-dried and powdered roots were soaked in 500 ml of ethanol for 7 days at room temperature. The filtrate was collected and evaporated to dryness to yield 2 g of the extract. 2.3. Phytochemical screening Qualitative analysis of phytochemical constituents in the extract was carried out using standard protocols (Harborne, 1973; Trease and Evans, 1989; Sofowora, 1993). 0378-8741/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.10.034