Anticarcinogenic effect of alpha-lipoic acid and Jatropha gossypifolia leaves against cypermethrin-induced genotoxicity in rats

Background: Cypermethrin (Cyp), a synthetic pyrethroid developed for agricultural and public health applications, has become harmful to the environment and mammalian life owing to indiscriminate use.Aim: This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of the methanolic extract of Jatropha gossypifolia leaves against Cyp-induced genotoxicity in rats using alpha-lipoic acid (α-LA) as standard drug.Method: Fifty-six male Wistar rats, assigned to eight groups of seven animals each, were treated orally for 28 days as follows - Group 1: only corn oil (Control); Group 2: 20 mg/kg body weight (b.wt) of Cyp; Groups 3, 4 and 5: Cyp + 50 mg/kg b.wt of J. gossypifolia, Cyp + 100 mg/kg b.wt of J. gossypifolia and Cyp + 50 mg/kg b.wt of α-LA, respectively; Groups 6, 7 and 8: J. gossypifolia (50 mg/kg b.wt), J. gossypifolia (100 mg/kg b.wt) and α-LA (50 mg/kg b.wt), respectively. The P53 was assayed for using the plasma, while the micronucleus assay was carried out on the bone marrow.Results: Results showed that exposure to Cyp significantly increased the number of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (86.70%) as well as p53 concentration in both the liver and plasma (200.00% and 125.53%) compared to the control. Co-administration with methanolic extract of J. gossypifolia leaves significantly reversed these alterations in a dose-dependent manner.Conclusion: The methanolic extract of J. gossypifolia leaves has the potential to ameliorate Cyp-induced genotoxicity in rats, and also, the toxicological evaluations of the plant extract and α-LA showed that it is relatively safe for use at the doses investigated.