The antimutagenic capacity of the aqueous extract of Baccharis articulata (Lam.) Persoon

Baccharis articulata (Lam.) Persoon, known in South America as “carqueja or carquejilla”, is used as folk medicine infusion for gastrointestinal and liver disease treatments in Southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The antimutagenic effect of aqueous extracts from aerial parts of B. articulata against the mutagens 2-aminofluorene (2-AF), 2-nitrofluorene, and sodium azide was evaluated by the Ames test, with both the classic plate and pre-incubation assays. Results demonstrated that the antimutagenic effect of the extract depends not only on the mutagen tested but also on the incubation method used. The antimutagenicity curves for the pro-mutagen 2-AF requiring metabolic activation showed clear differences between TA98 and TA100 bacterial test strains. The presence of chlorogenic acid was detected by high performance liquid chromatography. This finding indicates that the antimutagenic capability of B. articulata could be related to its antioxidative properties.