Ameliorative effect of Cymbopogon citratus extract on cisplatin-induced genotoxicity in human leukocytes

Abstract

Cisplatin (Cis) as anticancer drug has many side effects and non-selective targeting of cancerous cells. In this work, the antigenotoxic potential of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) leaves aqueous extract (CC) against the cisplatin-induced genotoxicity in human peripheral leukocytes was investigated in vitro. Firstly, the antioxidant activity of plant extract was investigated by DPPH method which proved a good antioxidant potential of CC extract. CC enhanced the proliferation and increased cell count when compared to the control and Cis-treated groups. Furthermore, the expression of nuclear protein Ki-67 as a marker of cell proliferation was tested immunocytochemically and the results supported the ameliorative effect of CC against the genotoxic effect of Cis. The nuclear dual acridine orange/ethidium bromide fluorescent staining of cells showed the distinct morphological features of apoptosis and cell death among Cis-treated groups. The reduction of total genomic DNA fragmentation on agarose gel was noted among CC-treated groups when compared to Cis-treated groups.