Anti-genotoxic potential of Gentiana lutea extracts against the food sweetener saccharin

Abstract

Sweeteners are now integral part of the food industry. Despite long history of use, saccharin has been in the spotlight for many reasons including toxicity, cancerogenicity and other health issues. Because of this, it is necessary to find natural supplements that could reduce negative effect of food additives and sweeteners. The aim of the study was to investigate potential antigenotoxic effect of Gentiana lutea extracts against saccharin-induced genotoxicity. G. lutea is widely used plant in traditional medicine, food and pharmaceutical industry. Antigenotoxicity of root and leaf 50% aqueous-ethanolic extracts was tested on normal human fetal fibroblasts (MRC-5) and human hepatocarcinoma cells (HepG2) using comet assay. Extracts in co-treatment with saccharin significantly reduce its genotoxic effect at all tested concentrations. Results obtained in this study indicated a strong protective effect of G. lutea against saccharin and encourage further studies in order to use this plant as a source of natural food supplements.