Abstract:
Lagerstroemia floribunda and L. macrocarpa were investigated for phytochemicals and toxicity. Phytochemical contents were screened via GC-MS and HPLC with ethanol and hexane extracts. MTT and comet assays were performed on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Major phytochemicals contained at higher than 10% were31.83% γ-sitosterol, 10.73% phytol in L. floribunda; 34.97% γ-sitosterol, 13.65% oleamide and 10.56% squalene in L. macrocarpa. MTT assay showed IC50 values as 0.54 and 0.60 mg/ml in L. floribunda and L. macrocarpa ethanol extracts, yet no IC50 values with hexane extracts indicating high cell viability percentage 62.77 ± 1.53-75.28 ± 3.10 and 68.45 ± 3.25-84.39 ± 1.30. The IC50 value predicted LD50 of 1097.62 and 1141.49 mg/kg in L. floribunda and L. macrocarpa, slightly hazardous category of toxic chemicals. Comet assay revealed that the two studied species induced significant DNA damage in PBMCs (p < 0.05). Based on the previous reports that γ-sitosterol possess antihyperglycemic activity, combinations of L. floribunda, L. macrocarpa, L. speciosa and L. indica plants which contained a sufficient amount of γ-sitosterol were evaluated. They displayed no IC50 values but induced significant DNA damage in PBMCs (p < 0.05) amid all combinations. So, consumers should concentrate on their genotoxicity.
