Genetic Toxicity of Berberine on Mouse Heart
Berberine, a common drug, which is widely used in clinical medicine as inflammatory medicines, is rarely studied about its affection on non-target organisms in recent researches. To evaluate the eco-toxicity of berberine in mouse heart cells, biochemical responses including oxidative damage and changes in the activities of antioxidative enzymes catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) induced by berberine were investigated in mouse heart cells. 7.5, 15, 30, 60 and 120 mgkg-1 berberine was added to mouse heart cells respectively. Compared to the controls, the damage, tail DNA content (%) , tail length and tail moment went up respectively in dose-effect manner following the rising berberine; As the content of berberine increased, the activities of SOD, CAT and POD were gradually decreased and the concentration of MDA was gradually increased. Compared to the controls, the change tendency showed significant differences (p<0.05 or p<0.01). In conclusion, berberine induces oxidative stress and DNA damage to heart cells, which may be the significant mechanisms for its toxicity to mice.