<i>Podophyllum hexandrum</i> ameliorates endosulfan-induced genotoxicity and mutagenicity in freshwater cyprinid fish crucian carp

<b>Context:</b> Medicinal plants continue to act as a repository for novel drug leads with novel mechanisms of action. <i>Podophyllum hexandrum</i> Royale (Berberideceae) treats diverse conditions in folk medicine. <b>Objective:</b> The antimutagenic potential of <i>P. hexandrum</i> was evaluated against endosulfan-induced clastogenicity in a piscine model by cytogenetic endpoints. <b>Materials and methods:</b><i>Podophyllum hexandrum</i> rhizomes were subjected to successive solvent extraction. Fish were exposed to hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous extracts (15 mg/L each) of plant and endosulfan (0.05 mg/L) alone followed by their combination for antimutagenicity estimates. Chromosomal aberrations (CA) were made from kidney cells and micronuclei (MN) slides from peripheral blood erythrocytes at 48, 72 and 96 h. Antioxidant activity was analyzed by the DPPH assay. Phytochemical analyses were carried out using chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. <b>Results:</b> Endosulfan induced significant (<i>p</i> R²=.900) with antimutagenic activity, whereas EE-F4 seemed to act through a different mechanism. <b>Discussion and conclusion:</b> This study confirms the antimutagenic potential of the subject plant with the identification of some novel compounds, justifying their use in folk medicine, and their corresponding benefit to mankind.**背景：** 药用植物始终是具备全新作用机制的新型药物先导化合物的重要宝库。桃儿七（*Podophyllum hexandrum* Royle，小檗科（Berberideceae））在民间医药中可用于治疗多种病症。 **研究目的：** 本研究以鱼类模型为研究对象，采用细胞遗传学终点，评估桃儿七（*P. hexandrum*）对抗硫丹诱导的染色体断裂损伤的抗诱变潜能。 **材料与方法：** 取桃儿七根茎，采用连续溶剂萃取法进行提取。将鱼类分别暴露于植物的正己烷、三氯甲烷、乙酸乙酯、甲醇、水提取物（浓度均为15 mg/L）以及硫丹（0.05 mg/L）单独处理组，随后设置联合处理组以评估其抗诱变活性。分别于48、72、96小时采集肾脏细胞制备染色体畸变（Chromosomal Aberrations, CA）玻片，采集外周血红细胞制备微核（Micronucleus, MN）玻片。采用DPPH自由基清除法分析其抗氧化活性。采用色谱与光谱技术开展植物化学组分分析。 **研究结果：** 硫丹可诱导显著的染色体断裂损伤，该提取物展现出显著的抗诱变活性（决定系数R²=0.900），而组分EE-F4似乎通过不同的作用机制发挥功效。 **讨论与结论：** 本研究证实了受试植物的抗诱变潜能，并鉴定出若干新型化合物，验证了其在民间医药中应用的合理性，同时为人类健康带来相应益处。