Bio-guided fractionation of the antimutagenic activity of methanolic extract from the fruit of Randia echinocarpa (Sessé et Mociño) against 1-nitropyrene

Randia echinocarpa is a native plant from Mexico that produces an edible fruit with several ethnopharmacological uses (e.g. cancer, kidney ailments, and diabetes). Extracts of this fruit have shown antimutagenic activity. In this report, a methanolic extract of R. echinocarpa and a bio-guided chromatographic strategy were used to obtain an hexanic fraction (HF) with strong antimutagenic activity (microsuspension assay with Salmonella typhimurium YG1024) using 1-nitropyrene as mutagen (1-NP, 50 and 100 ng/tube). The HF (500 ng/tube) showed the highest inhibition percentage of mutagenic activity (PI) (75%, 1-NP 50 ng/tube; 84%, 1-NP 100 ng/tube). HF chromatography with silica produced HF1 which was further separated to produce the fractions with the highest antimutagenic activities (HF1–1 and HF1–2, PI ≥ 60%). These fractions were chemically characterized by chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; among the main components of HF, HF1–1 and HF1–2 were registered linoleic acid, palmitic acid and β-sitosterol, which could be responsible for the antimutagenic activity of R. echinocarpa fruit. The samples evaluated were neither toxic nor mutagenic. Randia echinocarpa is an underutilized plant and its fruit has been used traditionally as food/medicine; fruit consumption could provide human health benefits and it has potential to be exploited under conditions of ecological sustainability.

► Bio-guided characterization of antimutagenic compounds of Randia echinocarpa fruit.
► Methanolic extract shows weak antimutagenicity.
► Hexanic fraction of the methanolic extract is a strong antimutagen.
► The main components are β-sitosterol and palmitic and linoleic acids.
► The fruit of Randia echinocarpa could be considered as nutraceutical.