INFLUENCE OF PULP OIL FROM Persea american Mill ON THE CHROMOSOMAL DAMAGE INDUCED IN SWISS MICE

Introduction: Persea americana Mill, commonly known as avocado, belongs to the Lauraceae family, popularly known as avocado. Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the modulatory effect of the different doses of Persea americana Mill oil (PAO) on chromosomal damage induced by the mutagens methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and doxorubicin (DXR). Methods: Swiss mice, five for treatment group, received different doses of PAO (250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight [b. w.]) combined with the MMS (40 mg/kg b. w.) or DXR (20 mg/kg, b. w.). The negative (water), solvent (Tween 80; 5%) and positive (MMS and DXR) controls were included.  The different doses of PAO were administered to the animals by gavage , 10 min before intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of MMS or DXR. Bone marrow samples were collected 24 h after treatment. For determination of the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPCE), 2000 polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE) per animal were analyzed and to determine the cytotoxicity of the treatments, 400 erythrocytes per animal were scored to calculate the PCE/ PCE + NCE (normochromatic erythrocytes) ratio. Results: The results showed absence of cytotoxicity on the concentrations tested. The administration of a single oral dose of PAO simultaneously with MMS or DXR significantly reduced the frequency of MNPCE induced by MMS or DXR when compared to the group treated only with the mutagen. This reduction ranged from 45.8 to 55% for MMS and from 57.2 to 58.9% for DXR. Conclusion: the PAO was effective in reducing the chromosomal damage induced by the mutagens MMS and DXR.