In vitro cytotoxic, genotoxic, and oxidative effects of acyclic sesquiterpene farnesene

Farnesene (FNS) is an acyclic sesquiterpene. It has a wide range of important biological effects such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties, although its cytotoxic, cytogenetic, and oxidative effects have not been investigated in human blood tissue yet. To this aim, both MTT and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays were carried out to evaluate cell viability and cytotoxicity. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidative stress (TOS) parameters were used to assess oxidative alterations. In addition, micronucleus and chromosomal aberration tests were used for mutagenic and genotoxic studies. The results revealed that FNS reduced cell viability at concentrations of higher than 100 μg/mL. All tested concentrations of FNS were found to be nongenotoxic. In addition, the in vitro treatments with FNS led to increases of TAC levels in cultured blood cells without changing TOS levels as compared to the control group. Our results demonstrate that FNS could be used as an antioxidant compound resource that may have applications in the food and drug industries.