Toxicological assessment of Opuntia dillenii (Ker Gawl.) Haw. cladode methanol extract, fractions and its alpha pyrones: Opuntiol and opuntioside

Siddiqui F 1 , Farooq AD 2 , Mudassar 3 , Kabir N 4 , Fatima N 5 , Abidi L 6 Show all authors , Lubna 7 , Faizi S 8

Affiliations 

  • 1 Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow College of Pharmacy, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi-74200, Pakistan. Electronic address: faheema.siddiqui@duhs.edu.pk
  • 2 Hamdard Al-Majeed College of Eastern Medicine Hamdard University, Karachi-74600, Pakistan. Electronic address: ahsanadar@hotmail.com
  • 3 Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Center, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. Electronic address: azhar610@gmail.com
  • 4 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. Electronic address: nurul.kabir@um.edu.my
  • 5 Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Center, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. Electronic address: narjis.btech12@gmail.com
  • 6 HEJ, Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan; Department of Chemistry, Jinnah University for Women, 5C Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan. Electronic address: lubnaabidi@yahoo.com
  • 7 HEJ, Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. Electronic address: lubnazaheer_789@hotmail.com
  • 8 HEJ, Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. Electronic address: shaheenfaizi@hotmail.com
J Ethnopharmacol, 2021 Nov 15;280:114409.
PMID: 34265378 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2021.114409

Abstract

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The edible plant Opuntia dillenii (Ker Gawl.) Haw. commonly known as Nagphana, belongs to the Cactaceae family. It is traditionally used to treat various ailments including inflammation, gastric ulcers, diabetes, hepatitis, asthma, whooping cough and intestinal spasm.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Despite its traditional use in various countries, detailed toxicological studies of O. dillenii cladode are few. Thus in the current study, toxicity of O. dillenii cladode derived methanol extract, fractions and its α-pyrones: opuntiol and opuntioside have been addressed.

METHODS: The test agents were assessed using both in vitro and in vivo toxicity assays. MTT on human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK-293), tryphan blue exclusion in rat neutrophils, Cytokinesis-B block micronucleus (CBMN) in human lymphocytes and genomic DNA fragmentation using agarose gel electrophoresis were performed. In acute toxicity test, mice orally received extract (5 g/kg) for 7 days followed by measurements of relative organ weight, biochemical (blood profile, liver and kidney function test) and histological studies (liver and kidney) were carried out. Rat bone marrow micronucleus genotoxicity assay was also conducted.

RESULTS: O. dillenii derived test agents were non-cytotoxic and had no effect on the integrity of DNA. Methanol extract (5 g/kg) orally administered in mice did not cause any significant change in relative organ weights, biochemical parameters and liver and kidney histology as compared to vehicle control. In parallel, extract did not stimulate micronuclei formation in rat bone marrow polychromatic erythrocytes.

CONCLUSION: These results led to conclude that edible O. dillenii extract is non-toxic via the oral route and appears to be non-cyto-, hepato-, nephro- or genotoxic, thereby supporting its safe traditional use against various ailments. Therefore, opuntiol and opuntioside may serve as lead compounds in designing new drug(s) derived from edible plants.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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