Protective effects of Amaranthus hybridus against aflatoxin B1 and fumonisin B1-induced genotoxicity in H4IIE-luc cells

Aim: Protective effects of aqueous extract of Amaranthus hybridus against aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and/or fumonisin B1 (FB1) on the H4IIE-luc cell line were determined by use of the methyl thiazol tetrazolium viability assay and disruption of DNA integrity.Methods: H4IIE-luc cells were incubated with different concentrations of AFB1 and/or FB1 for 24 and 48 h with or without aqueous extract of A. hybridus.Results: AFB1 decreased viability of cells after 24 and 48 h of exposure. EC50 values for AFB1 were 10.5 and 1.8 µmol/L for the two periods respectively. When the 48 h exposure to mycotoxin repeated with a pre-treatment of 20 and 40 µg/mL extract of A. hybridus, the EC50 changed to 3.88 and 7.67 µmol/L, respectively. H4IIE-luc cells exposed to FB1 for 24 h responded more than those incubated for 48 h. Cells treated with a combination of AFB1 and FB1 were less viable with a significant decrease at the greater concentration. The mixture of AFB1 and FB1 resulted in a significant threat to H4IIE-luc as indicated by the absence or appearance of new bands in random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis, which demonstrated damage to DNA. The protective effects were probably due to greater content of total phenolics, carotenoids, β-carotene, folic-, linolenic-, linoleic and palmitic acids, as well as calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and selenium observed in the extract.Conclusion: Exposure to 40 μg/ml of extract of A. hybridus protected cells from damage to DNA by stabilizing DNA