Effect of the leaf extract from cauliflower (brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) on the biodistribution of the radiopharmaceutical sodium pertechnetate in mice and on the electrophoretic mobility of plasmid pUC 9.1 DNA

There is evidence that the biodistribution of radiopharmaceuticals may be altered by a variety of drugs. If unknown, the drug interaction with radiopharmaceuticals can lead to misdiagnosis or the necessity to repeat the examination, increasing the dose to the patient. Different substances has the ability to modify the electrophoretic mobility of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Cauliflower has the leaves used in folk medicine. We evaluated the influence of the leaf extract of cauliflower on: (i) the biodistribution of the radiopharmaceutical sodium pertechnetate (99mTcO4Na) and in (ii) the mobility of a plasmid pUC 9.1 through gel electrophoresis analysis. 99mTcO4Na (0.3ml) was administered into female Wistar rats which had drunk or not the extract for 60 days. After 10 min, the animals were sacrificed, the organs isolated, the radioactivity determined in a well counter and the percentages of radioactivity per gram (%ATI/g) in the organs calculated. The %ATI/g was not significantly altered (p>0.05) in the treated animals. The supercoiled form of the plasmid was modified by the cauliflower extract. We suggest that the action of this extract on the DNA might be explained by a direct effect or by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that could be inducing lesions in the plasmid DNA. However, this lesive effect was not capable to alter the biodistribution of the 99mTcO4Na in the treated animals with the extract.