Anticlastogenic Effect of Eryngium foetidum L. by Erythrocyte Micronucleus Assay

Spices and herbal vegetables have long been traditionally used in habitual diets in tropical regions including Thailand. They contain not only essential nutrients but also are rich in various phytochemicals such as polyphenols, terpenes, alkaloids and phenolic acids, etc. The purified or crude extracts from some plants have been demonstrated to play a vital role in prevention and treatment of some chronic diseases. Several previous studies reported that Thai vegetables, herbs, and spices such as neem flowers, ivy gourd leaf, sesbania flowers, lemon grass, Asiatic pennywort and Indian mulberry, etc. possess antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic and/or anticlastogenic properties (Rojanapo and Tepsuwan, 1993; Kupradinun et al., 1997: 2008: 2011; Kusamran et al., 1998; Tepsuwan et al., 1999: 2002). Eryngium foetidum L. (Saw tooth leaf, family Apiaceae, EF) is widely used for its unique pungent aroma as an important seasoning in habitual diets (Seaforth et al., 2005). It has been used as traditional medicine for treatment of colds, fits, convulsions, fainting, headaches and malaria (Mitchell et al., 2006; Roumy et al., 2007). The aerial parts of EF are rich in several nutrients including vitamins and carotene (Munsell et al., 1950; Ramcharan and Culantro, 1999). The leaf contains essential oil predominantly with E-2-dodecenal (Lo et al., 1991).