In vitro genotoxicity testing of carvacrol and thymol using the micronucleus and mouse lymphoma assays

Publication date: Available online 13 May 2015 Source:Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis Author(s): Sara Maisanaba , Ana I. Prieto , Maria Puerto , Daniel Gutiérrez-Praena , Eşref Demir , Ricard Marcos , Ana M. Cameán Currently, antimicrobial additives derived from essential oils (Eos) extracted from plants or spices, such as Origanum vulgare, are used in food packaging. Thymol and carvacrol, the major EO compounds of O. vulgare, have demonstrated their potential use as active additives. These new applications use high concentrations, thereby increasing the concern regarding their toxicological profile and especially their genotoxic risk. The aim of this work was to investigate the potential in vitro genotoxicity of thymol (0–250μM) and carvacrol (0–2500μM) at equivalent doses to those used in food packaging. The micronucleus (MN) test and the mouse lymphoma (MLA) assay on L5178Y/Tk ± mouse lymphoma cells were used. The negative results for thymol with the MN with and without the S9 fraction and also with the MLA assay reinforce the view that this compound is not genotoxic in mammalian cells. However, carvacrol presented slight genotoxic effects, but only in the MN test at the highest concentration assayed (700μM) and in the absence of metabolic activation. The lack of genotoxic response in the MLA assay after 4 and 24h of exposure indicates a low genotoxic potential for carvacrol. Alternatively, the general negative findi...
Source: Mutation Research Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research