CYTOGENETIC AND MOLECULAR EVALUATIONS OF GENETIC EFFECTS OF LEAF EXTRACT OF Rhazya stricta (Decne) ON Allium cepa ROOT TIP MERISTEMS
Abstract
Rhazyastricta(Decne)ofthe Apocynaceae family is a widely distributed plant in Saudi Arabia. Extract of its leaf is prescribed in folkloric medicine for the treatment of various disorders such as diabetes, sore throat, helminthiasis, inflammatory conditions and rheumatism (Ageel et al., 1987; Ali et al., 1995; Ali et al., 1998). This extract mainly contains alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoides, tannins and triterpenes (Ahmad et al., 1983; Al-Yahya et al., 1990). Several studies on rats and mice reported that the leaf extract causes sedation, analgesia, decreases motor activity and has anti-depressant, anti- oxidant activities, complex effects on brain endogenous monoamine oxidase activity and centrally-mediated hypoten- sion (Ali et al., 1998; Tanira et al., 2000; Ali et al., 2000). Moreover, one of the studies ascribed anticancer activities to the indole alkaloids of Rhazya stricta (Mukhopadhyay et al., 1981). The genotoxicity of Rhazya stricta leaf extract was demonstrated by Baeshin et al. (2005) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae where auxotrophic mutants were recoveredupon treatment with elevated concentrations of the extract. This neces- sitated a battery of tests to establish its genotoxic effect. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the genetic effects of the aqueous leaf extract of Rhazya stricta in root tip meristems of Allium cepa by cytogenetic and molecular assays.References
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