Algumas espécies de plantas do gênero Alchornea (Euphorbiaceae) são conhecidas por apresentarem as atividades biológicas: antioxidante, antifúngica, antiinflamatória, antibacteriana, citotóxica para células tumorais e inibidoras da replicação dos vírus HIV-1 e HIV-2. São também amplamente usadas na medicina popular na America do Sul e África. No Brasil, Alchornea castaneaefolia Willd. A. Juss. e Alchornea glandulosa Poepp. & Endl. são usadas para tratamento do reumatismo, artrite e dores musculares. Devido ao uso medicinal dessas plantas e o potencial risco do seu consumo indiscriminado, no presente trabalho foi avaliada a atividade mutagênica dos extratos metanólico e clorofórmico das folhas, empregando o teste do micronúcleo in vivo e o teste de Ames. Os resultados mostraram que o extrato clorofórmico não apresentou mutagenicidade, porém, o extrato metanólico de A. castaneaefolia foi mutagênico para a linhagem TA98 de Salmonella typhimurium e o extrato metanólico de A. glandulosa para as linhagens TA98 e TA97a. O extrato metanólico de ambas as espécies também apresentaram mutagenicidade positiva nos ensaios in vivo na maior concentração usada. Os prováveis agentes mutagênicos envolvidos foram a quercetina aglicona e amentoflavona presentes em ambas as espécies.

Some species of the plant genus Alchornea (family Euphorbiaceae) are widely used in popular medicine, mainly in South America and in Africa. Several kinds of biological activity have been seen in the species: antioxidant, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, cytotoxic against tumor cell lines and inhibitory to the replication of HIV-1 and HIV-2. In Brazil, the species Alchornea castaneaefolia Willd. A. Juss. and Alchornea glandulosa Poepp. & Endl. are used by the local population to treat rheumatism, arthritis and muscular pains. In view of the popular use of these plants as medicines and the potential risks from their consumption, we assessed the mutagenic potential of chloroform and methanol extracts of the leaves of these plant species, employing the in vivo micronucleus test and the Ames assay. The data obtained showed that the chloroform extracts were not mutagenic. The methanol extract of A. castaneaefolia was mutagenic to strain TA98 of Salmonella typhimurium and the methanol extract of A. glandulosa to strains TA98 and TA97a. The methanol extracts of both species of Alchornea were mutagenic in vivo at the largest dose employed. The probable mutagenic agents involved were the aglycone quercetin and amentoflavone, present in both species.

The plant Croton cajucara Benth. (Euphorbiaceae) is a medicinal plant from the Brazilian Amazon where it is commonly known as sacaca. The principal compound isolated from C. cajucara stem-bark extracts is the clerodane-type diterpene trans-dehydrocrotonin (DCTN) which presents several biological activities, including antiulcerogenic, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, antimutagenic and antitumoral activity. However, few studies have been carried out to evaluate the therapeutic potential of raw C. cajucara extracts. We studied mutagenicity and antimutagenicity effects of C. cajucara methanol extract using the micronucleus assay in bone marrow cells and the dominant lethal assay in mice submitted to subchronic treatments. The blood testosterone levels of the mice were also measured to assess the effects of the methanol extract on testes function. Statistical analysis of the data obtained in this study showed no statistically significant mutagenicity attributable to C. cajucara stem-bark extracts, nor did such extracts show antimutagenic activity at the concentrations assessed. The testosterone concentration was normal in all the mice studied.