Mutagenicity and antimutagenicity of Croton cajucara

Croton cajucara Benth. (‘sacaca’) is a tree of the Euphorbiaceae family, native to the Amazon region in northern Brazil, where it is widely used in the popular treatment of various diseases. Its active principle, the terpenoid trans-dehydrocrotonin, has been credited with a variety of medical properties, including antiulcer, antiinflammatory, antitumor, antimutagenic and hypoglycemic activity. In this investigation, possible mutagenic and antimutagenic effects were evaluated in treatments using methanol extract of this plant on Swiss Albino mice by examining their peripheral blood cells for micronuclei. In these tests, the material obtained by methanol extraction of C. cajucara tree bark was administered to the mice by gavage. None of the doses evaluated in this study presented mutagenicity. Analysis of the results obtained from studies evaluating antimutagenicity revealed protection against the chemotherapeutic agent cyclophosphamide for the two highest doses used.