Protective Role of Mentha longifolia L. ssp. longifolia against Aflatoxin B

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of essential oil of Mentha longifolia L. ssp. longifolia, used since ancient times for the treatment of many digestive tract diseases, on the genotoxicity and oxidative stress by a single dose of Aflatoxin B-1 (5 mu M) in the human lymphocyte culture. The total of the 12 identified components accounted for 97.69 % by Gas chromatography (GC). Major components of the oil were cis-piperitone epoxide (26.52 %), piperitenone oxide (26.40 %), pulegone (15.66 %) and piperitenone (13.57 %). According to the results obtained from GC-MS systems, monoterpenes consist of 89.19 % of the total oil approximately while sesquiterpenes were represented in small quantities in the oil. We studied the antigenotoxic effects of essential oils of M. longifolia (MEO) by using sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronucleus (MN) test systems. Also, the anti-oxidative effects of MEO were evaluated by using superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and malondialdehyde (MDA) assay. The SCE frequency and the number of MN were increased when treated with AFB(1). Especially, MEO at 1.5 and 2.0 mu 1 reduced SCE frequency and MN number in the human lymphocyte (p < 0.05). In addition, AFB(1) treatment significantly reduced the activity of SOD and GPx and elevated the level of MDA (p < 0.05). MEOs treatment led to significant attenuation of AFB(1)-induced oxidative stress by normalization of the activities of SOD and GPx and the MDA (p < 0.05). These results suggest that MEOs could provide anti-oxidative and anti-genotoxic protection for the oxidative and genotoxic agents that cause many diseases including cancer and neurodegenerative disease.