Evaluation of the mutagenic potential of Cochlospermum regium in Drosophila melanogaster male germ cells

During the last few decades the search for medical treatments based on alternative medicine has increased significantly, making knowledge of the plants commonly used as folk medicines extremely important. The plant Cochlospermum regium, a member of the Cochlospermaceae found in the Brazilian cerrado (a type of savanna), is known to have high depurative activity and to be effective not only in treating skin problems such as pimples, boils and blotches but also in curing gastritis and ulcers. We prepared aqueous extracts using 13, 19 and 25 gL of dried C. regium root and investigated these extracts for possible mutagenic effects on Drosophila melanogaster germ cells. Mutagenesis was assessed using the ring-X loss (RXL) test which can detect chromosome mosaicism, partial loss of the ring X chromosome and chromosome non-disjunction. Our results showed that at the concentrations tested C. regium extracts did not induce ring-X loss in D. melanogaster.