Genotoxic Potential of Thymol on Honey Bee DNA in the Comet Assay

Thymol is a natural essential oil derived from the plant Thymus vulgaris L. It is known to be beneficial for human and animal health and has been used in beekeeping practice against Varroa mite for years. In this study, the genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of thymol were evaluated on the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) continuous cell line AmE-711 for the first time. Using the Comet assay, three increasing concentrations (10, 100, and 1000 µg/mL) of thymol were tested. Negative control (non-treated cells) and positive control (cells treated with 100 µM H2O2) were also included. The absence of thymol cytotoxicity was confirmed with the Trypan blue exclusion test. Thymol in the concentration of 10 µg/mL did not increase DNA damage in AmE-711 honey bee cells, while 100 and 1000 µg/mL concentrations showed genotoxic effects. For testing the antigenotoxic effect, all concentrations of thymol were mixed and incubated with H2O2. The antigenotoxic effect against was absent at all concentrations (10, 100, 1000 μg/mL) tested. Moreover, thymol enhanced the H2O2-induced DNA migration in the Comet assay. The obtained results indicate genotoxic effects of thymol on cultured honey bee cells suggesting its careful application in beekeeping practice to avoid possible negative effects on honey bees. © 2023 by the authors

Micromorphology and histochemistry of trichomes of endemic nepeta rtanjensis (lamiaceae)

Micromorphological and anatomical analyses of the indumentum of Nepeta rtanjensis, a Serbian/local endemic species, were performed by means of light and electron microscopy and described in detail. The leaves and stems bear numerous glandular trichomes, both peltate and capitate, as well as non-glandular unbranched trichomes. A basal epidermal cell, a short stalk cell and a large round head of four secretory cells constitute one peltate trichome. Capitate trichomes are short and long-stalked and can be divided into two types, based on the number of glandular head cells, and further into a few subtypes according to the length and number of cells in stalk. Capitate trichomes of smaller length with one-cellular or with a bicellular head have been previously reported in different Nepeta species; however, according to our best knowledge, no existing study has reported the presence of long capitate trichomes on vegetative organs in any other species of this genus

Da li organski hleb bez brašna od celih proklijalih zrna pšenice smanjuje oštećenja DNK kod pacijenata sa dijabetesom?

Diabetes is one of the main health concerns, especially in developed countries. During the last few decades, the percentage of diabetic persons is constantly increasing. Although the genetic factors have a strong influence in the development of diabetes, environmental influence (physical inactivity, inadequate nutrition leading to obesity) also have an important impact. The main objective of this investigation was to evaluate the possible influence of organic sprouted whole wheat grain flourless bread Tonus® (product of Trivit, Becej, Serbia) on DNA damage at various stages of progression through type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In addition to control (non-diabetic) subjects we analyzed obese, pre-diabetic and diabetic patients, for a total of four experimental groups. All subjects used to eat Mediterranean diet for at least two years before being included in our study. In each of four groups we had five persons practicing the Mediterranean diet but instead of bread they consumed flourless bread Tonus®. The DNA damage was evaluated on peripheral blood mononuclear cells by alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (Comet) assay at the very beginning (before starting the Tonus® bread diet), and after exactly the three months of consumption of Tonus® bread. Statistical analysis revealed that only in patients with typeDijabetes predstavlja jedan od glavnih zdravstvenih problema, naročito u razvijenim zemljama. Tokom poslednjih nekoliko decenija neprekidno se povećava procenat osoba obolelih od dijabetesa. Mada genetički faktori imaju snažan uticaj na razvoj dijabetesa, uticaji sredine (fizička neaktivnost, nepravilna ishrana koja dovodi do gojaznosti) takođe imaju veliki uticaj na razvoj ove bolesti. Tokom nekoliko poslednjih decenija procenat osoba sa dijabetesom se konstantno povećava. Glavni cilj ovog istraživanja bio je da se proceni mogući uticaj organskog hleba bez brašna od celih proklijalih zrna pšenice, Tonus® (Trivit, Bečej, Serbia) na oštećenja DNK u različitim stadijumima progresije kroz tip 2 dijabetes melitus. Pored kontrolne grupe (zdrave osobe), analizirali smo gojazne, predijabetičare i dijabetičare, što čini ukupno četiri eksperimentalne grupe. Sve osobe su koristile Mediteransku ishranu najmanje dve godine pre nego su uključene u ovu studiju. U svakoj grupi imali smo pet osoba koje su upražnjavale Mediteransku ishranu, ali su umesto uobičajenog hleba konzumirali hleb bez brašna Tonus®. Oštećenja DNK su evaluirana alkalnom verzijom elektoroforeze DNK pojedinačnih ćelija (komet test) na samom početku (pre uvođenja hleba Tonus® u ishranu) i tačno nakon tri meseca konzumiranja hleba Tonus®. Statistička analiza otkrila je da samo kod pacijenata sa dijabetesom tipa 2 konzumiranje Tonus hleba dovodi do smanjenja oštećenja DNK u poređenju sa stepenom oštećenja DNK kod ovih pacijenata pre nego su otpočeli dijetu sa hlebom Tonus. Pretpostaljamo da je pad hiperinsulinemije usled konzumiranja hleba Tonus mogao da bude jedan od glavnih uzroka smanjenja oštećenja DNK

Nepeta rtanjensis (Lamiaceae), a plant endemic to the Balkans: Phenolic composition antioxidant activity, and in vitro antigenotoxic effects in triiodothyronine-induced DNA damage in human lymphocytes

The success of antioxidant therapy in hyperthyroidism implies that disease is mediated by oxidative stress, which is known as one of the causing agents of agemg, degenerative diseases, and cancer. The main objective of our study was to determine possible protective effects of methanolic extract of N. rtanjensis in triiodothyronine (T-3)-induced DNA breaks of human lymphocytes under in vitro conditions, based upon plant antioxidant capacity related to its phytochemical profile, mainly its polyphenolic complex. The total phenolic and flavonoid content and the antioxidant activity using in vitro 1,1-dyphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl reagent (DPPH) was determined in methanolic extracts of plant leaves and flowers. The phenolic compound content of 62.73 +/- 1.80 mg of GaA/g, exhibited solid antioxidant activity (IC50= 112.59 +/- 0.95 g/ml). The antigenotoxic activity of 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/ml N. rtanjensis methanol extracts mixture with 100 mu M of T-3 was studied in human lymphocytes in vitro using the Comet assay. It is supposed that the antigenotoxicity of N. rtanjensis methanol extracts was caused by high presence of chlorogenic acid, rosmarinic acid and rutin, all known as efficient antioxidant bioactive compounds, which were determined by ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatograph with MS/MS Mass Spectroscopy (UHPLC/-HESI-MS/MS)

The hCOMET project: international database comparison of results with the comet assay in human biomonitoring (baseline frequency of DNA damage and effect of main confounders)

The alkaline comet assay, or single cell gel electrophoresis, is one of the most popular methods for assessing DNA damage in the human population. One of the open issues concerning this assay is the identification of those factors that can explain the large inter-individual and inter-laboratory variation. International collaborative initiatives such as the hCOMET project - a COST Action launched in 2016 - represent a valuable tool to meet this challenge. The aims of hCOMET were to establish reference values for the level of DNA damage in humans, to investigate the effect of host factors, lifestyle, and exposure to genotoxic agents, and to compare different sources of assay variability. A database of 19,320 subjects was generated, pooling data from 105 studies run by 44 laboratories in 26 countries between 1999 and 2019. A mixed random effect log-linear model, in parallel with a classic meta-analysis, was applied to take into account the extensive heterogeneity of data, due to descriptor, specimen, and protocol variability. As a result of this analysis interquartile intervals of DNA strand breaks (which includes alkali-labile sites) were reported for tail intensity, tail length, and tail moment (comet assay descriptors). A small variation by age was reported in some datasets, suggesting higher DNA damage in oldest age-classes, while no effect could be shown for sex or smoking habit, although the lack of data on heavy smokers has still to be considered. Finally, highly significant differences in DNA damage were found for most exposures investigated in specific studies. In conclusion, these data, which confirm that DNA damage measured by the comet assay is an excellent biomarker of exposure in several conditions, may contribute to improving the quality of study design and to the standardization of results of the comet assay in humans populations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio