The Mutagenicity and Antimutagenicity of Canarium odontophyllum (Dabai) Acetone Leaves Extracts

Canarium odontophyllum or locally known as Dabai in Sarawak is a fruit largely consumed by the locals. Based on previous studies, the plant possessed various biological activities, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal and anticancer. Our aim was to investigate the mutagenicity and antimutagenicity of C. odontophyllum acetone leaves extracts by using the Ames test (Salmonella reverse mutagenicity assay).The Ames test also involved the pre-incubation method against Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 bacterial strains in the absence and presence of metabolic activator S9 system. C. odontophyllum crude acetone extracts were diluted with 10% DMSO to obtain three different concentrations of 3.125, 12.5 and 50 mg/ml. To determine the mutagenicity effects of the extracts, each concentration of the extract was evaluated based on the two-fold value of the number of revertant’s colony in negative control plate as the cut-of point. No mutagenic activity was observed for the frameshift mutation (TA98) and base-pair substitution mutation (TA100) in all concentrations of C. odontophyllum in the presence and absence of metabolic activator S9 system. Antimutagenicity test was carried out to determine the potential of C. odontophyllum extracts to inhibit the mutation induced by specific mutagens. The highest antimutagenic activity was seen in the presence of metabolic activator S9 system with inhibition percentage greater than 50% in both bacteria strains TA98 (62.38%) and TA100 (58.24%). In conclusion, C. odontophyllum acetone leaves extract was not mutagenic and had significant inhibitory effects on mutagenicity in both bacterial strains with and without the metabolic activator S9 system. Our results could contribute to the safe use of C. odontophyllum. In addition, based on the significant antimutagenic activity demonstrated by the C. odontophyllum acetone leaves extracts, the extract could also be developed as a chemopreventive agent.