Assessment of the cytotoxic, genotoxic, and antigenotoxic potential of Pycnogenol® in in vitro mammalian cells

Pycnogenol® (PYC), a standardized plant extract obtained from the bark of the French maritime pine Pinus pinaster, has been suggested to exert strong antioxidant activity and used as a phytochemical remedy for various diseases. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant capacity of PYC by the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay and the cytotoxicity by neutral red uptake (NRU) test in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. The genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects of PYC were evaluated by the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus (CBMN) and alkaline comet assays in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. At the concentrations of 2–200 μg/ml, PYC was found to have antioxidant activity. The viability of CHO cells during 24 h exposure were not affected at the concentrations of 5–150 μg/ml of PYC. IC50 value of PYC was found to be 285 μg/ml. At the concentrations above 100 μg/ml, PYC alone induced DNA damage and increased MN frequency, although PYC at all concentrations in a dose dependent manner revealed a reduction in the frequency of MN and the extent of DNA damage induced by H2O2. These results suggest PYC might reduce H2O2 induced chromosome breakage and loss and DNA damage in cultured human lymphocytes.