Assessment of the (anti)genotoxicity of brown propolis extracts from Brazilian Cerrado biome in a Drosophila melanogaster model

• The (anti)genotoxicity of propolis from the Brazilian Cerrado was assessed by SMART.
• The ethanol and hexane extracts of propolis were not genotoxic.
• The n-butanol (BuOH) fraction showed the highest antioxidant activity.
• The BuOH fraction provided the highest protection against DXR induced genotoxicity.
• Protective effects of the BuOH fraction were potentiated by cytochrome P450 enzymes.

Among the great number of studies on the chemical and biological features of propolis from Brazil, none have been found on the evaluation of the biological properties of propolis from the Cerrado biome of Center-West Brazil. Propolis biological activities have principally been attributed to its phenolic compounds, notable for significant antioxidant properties responsible for reducing the toxic effects of free radicals, in addition to the anticancer potential of these compounds. The purposes of the present investigation were to determine the DPPH-radical-scavenging activities of extracts and fractions of a propolis sample from the Brazilian Cerrado biome and to evaluate their genotoxicities by performing the somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) on wing cells of Drosophila melanogaster, using standard (ST) and high bioactivation (HB) crosses, with regular and enhanced levels of metabolizing enzymes of the cytochrome P450 type, respectively. The protective effects of propolis on the genotoxicity of doxorubicin (DXR), as well as the correlation between the radical-scavenging ability of propolis and its antigenotoxic potential were also evaluated. The ethanol extract of propolis (EEP) showed a significant level of phenolic compounds, as well as great antioxidant potential, unlike the hexane extract (HEP), of inexpressive radical-scavenging activity. Neither HEP nor EEP proved genotoxic to the offspring of ST and HB crosses, while co-treatments with DXR demonstrated the antigenotoxic properties of EEP on the ST cross, albeit proving genotoxic at the highest concentrations tested under conditions of high metabolic activation (HB cross). Solvent partitioning of EEP revealed expressive protective effects against DXR-induced genotoxicity exhibited by the n-butanol fraction, which were potentiated in HB strains, possibly due to the higher total phenolic content and more pronounced radical-scavenging properties of this fraction.