Evaluation of extract from leaves of Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess. (Clusiaceae) using micronucleus assay in mouse bone-marrow cells

This study evaluated the chomosomal damage potential of the extract from leaves of Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess. (Clusiaceae) in mouse bone-marrow cells. The extract was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to assess the concentration of coumarin (-) mammea A/BB, a compound with antileishmanial activity. The chromosomal damage potential of the extract was evaluated by the micronucleus test in erythrocytes of mouse bone marrow. The animals were treated with cyclophosphamide (50 mg) as positive control, DMSO (1%) as negative control, or the crude extract from C. brasiliense (100 or 200 mg/kg). The HPLC analyses showed that the extract contained 25.97 ± 0.91 µg of (-) mammea A/BB per mg of extract. The extract of C. brasiliense did not show chromosomal damage potential at the concentrations used for the preparation of creams with antileishmanial activity. This study may contribute to the registration of a topical phytomedicine containing the extract of C. brasiliense to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis.   Key words: Calophyllum brasiliense, genotoxicity assay, (-) mammea A/BB, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), antileishmanial activity, medicinal plants.