Antimutagenic and antirecombinagenic activities of noni fruit juice in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster

Noni, a Hawaiian name for the fruit of Morinda citrifolia L., is a traditional medicinal plant from Polynesia widely used for the treatment of many diseases including arthritis, diabetes, asthma, hypertension and cancer. Here, a commercial noni juice (TNJ) was evaluated for its protective activities against the lesions induced by mitomycin C (MMC) and doxorrubicin (DXR) using the Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test (SMART) in Drosophila melanogaster. Three-day-old larvae, trans-heterozygous for two genetic markers (mwh and flr3 ), were co-treated with TNJ plus MMC or DXR. We have observed a reduction in genotoxic effects of MMC and DXR caused by the juice. TNJ provoked a marked decrease in all kinds of MMC- and DXR-induced mutant spots, mainly due to its antirecombinagenic activity. The TNJ protective effects were concentration-dependent, indicating a dose-response correlation, that can be attributed to a powerful antioxidant and/or free radical scavenger ability of TNJ.

诺丽果（Noni）是夏威夷对巴戟天（Morinda citrifolia L.）果实的称谓，作为源自波利尼西亚的传统药用植物，其被广泛用于治疗关节炎、糖尿病、哮喘、高血压及癌症等多种疾病。本研究以黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）的体细胞突变与重组试验（Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test, SMART）为检测模型，评估了商用诺丽果汁（TNJ）对丝裂霉素C（mitomycin C, MMC）与多柔比星（doxorubicin, DXR）诱导的机体损伤的保护活性。研究选取携带两种遗传标记（mwh与flr3）的反式杂合子（trans-heterozygous）三日龄幼虫，将其与TNJ联合丝裂霉素C或多柔比星进行共处理。结果显示，该果汁可有效降低丝裂霉素C与多柔比星产生的遗传毒性效应：诺丽果汁可显著减少两类药物诱导的各类突变斑点数量，这一保护作用主要源于其抗重组遗传活性。诺丽果汁的保护效应呈浓度依赖性，存在明确的剂量-反应相关性，这可归因于其强大的抗氧化及/或自由基清除能力。