Absence of Mutagenicity in Three Nigerian Medicinal Plants - Bidens pilosa, Cleistopholis paterns and Tetrapleura tetraptera

Purpose: Bidens pilosa, Cleistopholis paterns, and Tetrapleura tetraptera are plants that are used traditionally for cancer treatment, as well as anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory agents in Africa. We used the Ames test to evaluate the bacterial reverse mutation effects in these plants. Methods: In the in vitro Ames test, Salmonella typhimurium strains TA 98, TA 100, TA 1535, TA 1537 and Escherichia coli WP2uvrA were used with or without metabolic activation by S9 mix. The highest concentration of B. pilosa, C. paterns, and T. tetraptera for the Ames test was established at 5000 μg/plate. Results: B. pilosa, C. paterns, and T. tetraptera did not cause any increase in the number of his^+ revertant colonies compared to the negative control values obtained from S. typhimurium and E. coli WP2uvrA strains, with or without the addition of S9 mixtures. The results indicated that these plants are non-mutagenic to all the five S. typhimurium and E. coli test strains in the presence and absence of metabolic activation. Conclusion: B. pilosa, C. paterns, and T. tetraptera showed negative results in the bacterial reverse mutation test, suggesting that it is potentially safe to use them as medicinal plant supplements even at high doses.