Mitomycin C (MMC) is an alkylating chemotherapy drug that could induce DNA damage and genetic alteration. It has been used as a model mutagen for in vivo and in vitro studies. The current study aimed to evaluate the protective role of Zinc oxide alginate–nanocomposites (ZnO-Alg/NCMs) against MMC–induced genotoxicity in mice. Animals were treated as follows: the control group, the groups treated with Algin (400 mg/kg b.w), the groups treated with ZnO-Alg/NCMs (400 mg/kg b.w), the group treated with MMC, and the groups treated with MMC plus Algin or ZnO-Alg/NCMs. Pre-treatment with Algin and ZnO-Alg/NCMs was repeated for one or seven days. Zinc oxide alginate-nanocomposites (ZnO-Alg/NCMs) were synthesized with the aim of incorporating the intrinsic properties of their constituents as an antigenotoxic substance. In this study, alginate was extracted from the brown marine alga Fucus vesiculosus, Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by using water extract of the same alga, and loaded in alginate to synthesize ZnO-Alg/NCMs. ZnO-NPs and ZnO-Alg/NCMs were characterized by TEM, SEM, EDX, and Zeta potential. The obtained results confirmed that by TEM and SEM, ZnO-NPs are rod shaped which modified, when loaded in alginate matrix, into spherical shape. The physical stability of ZnO-Alg/NCMs was reported to be higher than ZnO-NPs due to the presence of more negative charges on ZnO-Alg/NCMs. The EDX analysis indicated that the amount of zinc was higher in ZnO-NPs than ZnO-Alg/NCMs. The in vivo results showed that treatment with MMC induced genotoxic disturbances. The combined treatment with Algin and ZnO-Alg/NCMs succeeded in inducing significant protection against MMC. It could be concluded that ZnO-Algin/NCMs is a promising candidate to protect against MMC–induced genotoxicity.

Plant-based foods may enhance the prevention of cancer. The present investigation aimed to assess the antigenotoxic effects of chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) when loaded with the ethanol extract of C. cartilaginea (CNPs/Cc). Synthesis of CNPs and CNPs/Cc and their characterization were carried out using TEM, EDS, DSC, and Zeta potential. For in vivo experiments, animal groups were treated in the following groups: negative control, ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) (240 mg/kg), CNPs (350 mg/kg), high and low doses of CNPs/Cc, CNPs plus EMS, high dose of CNPs/Cc plus EMS, and low dose of CNPs/Cc plus EMS. Bone marrow chromosomal aberrations and sperm shape abnormalities were examined. TEM results showed that CNPs and CNPs/Cc are spherical particles. CNPs’ physical stability was observed to be lower than that of CNPs/Cc due to the presence of more positive charges on CNPs/Cc. EMS significantly enhanced chromosomal abnormalities and sperm shape abnormalities. CNPs showed powerful antigenotoxic properties. For the first time, it could be concluded that loading chitosan nanoparticles with C. cartilaginea extract significantly promotes its protective properties.

Commiphora gileadensis (Arabian balsam) is a wild medicinal plant naturally distributed in Saudi Arabia. To study the effect of habitat variation on the plant chemical compositions, chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was applied on the C. gileadensis gathered from two regions (Khulais and Breiman). In addition, the antigenotoxic activity of C. gileadensis were examined by evaluating chromosomal aberrations observed in bone marrow cells, DNA fragmentation in hepatocytes and sperm abnormalities assays in mice. Animal were treated as follow: groups treated with: CCL4 (1.2 mL/kg), high dose of C. gileadensis (400 mg /kg b.w.), low dose of C. gileadensis (200 mg /kg b.w.), CCL4 plus high dose of C. gileadensis, CCL4 plus low dose of C. gileadensis. The results monitored a significant difference between the chemical constitutive of C. gileadensis extracts in the studied regions. In vivo experimentations showed that pretreatment with the tested doses of C. gileadensis succeeded to reduced CCL4 induced injuries. A more efficient protective activity was obtained with implementation of the plant extract at high dose. Thus, the results reflect that the variation in geographical location affect on the chemical compositions of the plant and that C. gileadensis is a promise candidate which could protect against CCL4 induced genotoxicity.

Recent findings indicated that plant-based diet minimizes the overall cancer risk. Accordingly, there is a great concern with the therapeutic and anticancer uses of plant essential oils. The current work aimed to evaluate the protective activity of Eucalyptus globulus essential oil (EGEO) against genotoxic and histopathological defects induced by mitomycin C (MMC) in mice. Sixty male mice were subdivided into six groups: I: Control negative; II: Treated with 1.2 mL EGEO/kg for 4 days; III: MMC (1.5 mg/kg); IV-VI: three combined groups treated with EGEO at (0.8, 1.0 or1.2 mL/kg) plus MMC at (1.5 mg/kg). Twenty-one compounds, with the superiority of eucalyptol (74.31%), were determined in EGEO using Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. Treatment with MMC triggered substantial genotoxic and histopathological lesions in mouse tissues. MMC induced defects were significantly reversed by EGEO treatment at the tested doses. Chromosomal aberrations (Cas), micro-nucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPCEs), comet tail formation, inflammatory cell infiltration, necrosis, Kupffer cells, and pyknotic cells were all relevantly diminished. In conclusion, EGEO could be a safe and promising candidate for pharmaceutical and food industries. The synergistic effects of EGEO active constituents could alleviate the chemotherapeutic agents MMC-induced genetic and histological defects, thereby improving biological activities.