We characterized the chemical constituents of Copaifera duckei oleoresin and used dermal application to Wistar rats to evaluated its possible mutagenic and cytotoxic activities on peripheral blood reticulocytes and bone marrow cells. Chemical characterization of the oleoresin revealed the presence of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, an unidentified neutral diterpene and diterpene acids. To evaluate mutagenicity evaluation the rats were treated with 10, 25 and 50% of the LD50 dose of the oleoresin for three consecutive days and peripheral blood collected after 0, 24, 48 and 72 h for micronucleus analysis. The rats were humanly sacrificed 24 hours after the last treatment and chromosome preparations made using standard techniques. At the three concentrations and the three time intervals tested we found that there were no statistically significant differences in either the mean number of micronucleated reticulocytes (MNRETs) or the number of chromosomal aberrations as to the negative control. However, at 25 and 50% of the LD50 dose of the oleoresin there was a significant decrease in the mitotic index (MI) as compared to the negative control. Under our experimental conditions, C. duckei V11 oleoresin produced no mutagenic effects on bone marrow cells or in peripheral reticulocytes as assessed by chromosome aberrations and the micronucleus test respectively, but showed cytotoxic activity at high doses.
Copaifera duckei (Caesalpinaceae); phytochemical characterization; micronucleus test; chromosome aberrations; cytotoxic effect
