DNA protective activity of two species of the Scrophularia genus

Abstract

Plants from the genus Scrophularia, family Scrophulariaceae have numerous biological activities such as antibacterial, antioxidant, antiprotozoal, antitumor, hepatoprotective, and antidiabetic. However, as far as we know, genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects of these two plant species remain unexplored. The present study aimed to evaluate possible in vivo protective effects of the methanol extracts of two plant species of the Scrophularia genus, Scrophularia canina L. and S. alata Gilib., against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced DNA damage in albino Wistar rat. A significant increase in total comet score has been shown in animals receiving CCl4 compared with the negative control. Treatment with either S. alata or S. canina extracts reduced CCl4 induced DNA damage as indicated by the percentage of reduction in total comet score with a value above 50%.