Isolation of 3 flavonoids from Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. longifolia and determination of their genotoxic potentials by using the E. coli WP2 test system.

UNLABELLED: Flavonoids, abundant in most of plant species, are widely used in medicine and development studies on phytotherapeutic drugs due to their various biological activities. In the present study, 3 flavonoids, apigenin-7-O-glucoside, apigenin-7-O-rutinoside, and apigenin-7-O-glucuronide, were isolated from Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. longifolia by using E. coli WP2 genotoxicity assay guided fractionation procedures. Later, the mutagenic and antimutagenic properties of each flavonoid were evaluated by using the same genotoxicity assay. The results showed that all the test compounds have significant antimutagenic activity at tested concentrations with or without S9 activation. The inhibition rates were between 25.3% (apigenin-7-O-glucoside with S9-2.0 μM/plate) and 59.0% (apigenin-7-O-rutinoside without S9-2.0 μM/plate). In conclusion, the results revealed that the 3 flavonoids from Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. longifolia have significant antimutagenic activity, and the findings of the present study are valuable for further investigations, focus on the phytotherapeutic drug discovery. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Apigenin derivatives can be thought as genetically safe at tested concentrations because they did not show mutagenic activity. Furthermore, they have also significant antimutagenic activity. These are valuable for further research focus on phytotherapeutic drug discovery and development.