Avaliação da toxicidade aguda e toxicogenética do extrato aquoso de caules de Aristolochia ridicula

Abstract

The use of medicinal plants has been recognized since ancient times and is currently gaining prominence on the world stage. Its use is encouraged by the World Health Organization (WHO). Aristolochia ridicula belongs to the Aristolochiaceae family and the Piperales order, which consists of approximately 600 species. Most of the species in the Aristolochia group occur on the edge of Brazilian forests. They are popularly known as “cipó-de-thousand-men”, “patinho”, “jarrinha” or “erva-de-urubu” among others. The use of the plant is associated with its chemical composition and possible therapeutic properties, such as antidiarrheal and antispasmodic, linked to cancer treatment, weight loss, and inflammation. Despite the plant's properties, no records of studiesin Brazil validate itssafe use. Toxicity and genotoxicity studies are necessary to evaluate possible adverse effects and ensure the safety of using a medicinal plant. The research aimed to evaluate the acute toxicity, genotoxic, and mutagenic potential of the aqueous extract of Aristolochia ridicula stems. For the acute toxicity test, ten Wistar rats (n= 10), five males and five females, were treated orally with a single dose of 2000 mg/kg of weight of the aqueous extract, being observed and evaluated according to Hippocratic screening. for 14 days. On the 15th day, the animals were euthanized, and vital organs were collected for macroscopic analysis. In addition to the genotoxicity tests, 10 rats of both sexes (n= 10; five of each sex) were treated with a dose of 2000mg/kg of the extract. The genotoxic potential was evaluated using the micronucleus test and the comet assay. Statistical analysis was carried out using ANOVA Tukey tests with p<0.05. The aqueous extract of A. ridicula stems is not toxic at a dose of 2000 mg/kg and does not present genotoxic and mutagenic effects under the experimental conditions demonstrated.