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The Protective Effect of Whole Honey and Phenolic Extract on Oxidative DNA Damage in Mice Lymphocytes Using Comet Assay

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Abstract

In this study, the antioxidant activity and the protective effect against hydrogen peroxide-induced DNA damage were assessed for five honeys of different botanical origin. Seven phenolic acids were detected in the honey samples. Ferulic acid was the most abundant phenolic acid detected in longan honey, jujube honey and buckwheat honey. Ellagic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid and protocatechuic acid were the main phenolic acids detected in vitex honey. Of all honey samples tested, the highest total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were found in buckwheat honey, whereas the lowest total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were found in locust honey. Treatment with hydrogen peroxide induced a 62% increase in tail DNA in mice lymphocytes, and all studied honeys significantly inhibited this effect (P < 0.05). The buckwheat honey with higher antioxidant capability also exhibited super protective effect than others. Phenolic extracts of honey displayed greater protective effects than whole honey in comet assay. The hydrogen peroxide-generated increase in 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was effectively inhibited by the honeys studied (P < 0.05). Moreover, a dose-effect relationship between honey concentration and its protective effect was clearly observed in this study. It can be deduced that phenolic acids of honey can penetrate into lymphocytes and protect DNA from oxidative damage by scavenging hydrogen peroxide and/or chelating ferrous ions.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31272510 and no. 31602013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Northwest University, 229 North TaiBai Road, Xi’an City, 710069, China

    Ni Cheng, Yuan Wang & Wei Cao

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  1. Ni Cheng
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  2. Yuan Wang
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  3. Wei Cao
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Correspondence to Wei Cao.

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The peripheral blood of mice was used in this study. The animal ethical approval communication number is SCXK 2012–003.

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Cheng, N., Wang, Y. & Cao, W. The Protective Effect of Whole Honey and Phenolic Extract on Oxidative DNA Damage in Mice Lymphocytes Using Comet Assay. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 72, 388–395 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-017-0634-1

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