THE ANTIMUTAGENIC EFFECT OF MULTIFLORAL HONEY IN SALMONELLA/ MICROSOMAL ASSAY AND ITS CORRELATION WITH THE TOTAL POLYPHENOLIC CONTENT

Abstract

The objective of this study is to determine the antimutagenic effect of honey and its correlation with the concentration of the total polyphenolic content. Seven honey samples were collected from different regions of Algeria. The total polyphenolic content was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric assay. The antimutagenic effect was carried out by the AMES Salmonella/ microsome mutagenicity assay against three known mutagenic substances (4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine, sodium azide, and mitomycin C), using Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, and TA102 strains.

The results obtained revealed that Algerian honey contains high polyphenol content, which varied significantly between 38.04 and 286.28 µg of GAE/100 mg of honey. This variation is due to their different botanical and regional origins. In addition, all tested honey exhibited an antimutagenic effect against mutagenic substances; honey is effective to inhibit between 29.18±11.11 % and 73.14±11.14 % of mutagenic activity of chemical substances. There is a strong positive correlation between the total polyphenolic content and the antimutagenic proprieties of honey against the mutagenic substances.

The results obtained suggest that honey is effective as an antimutagenic agent; it can play an important role in the protection of the mutagenic effect of DNA caused by chemical substances.