Carcinogenicity and Mutagenicity of Sumak Plant (Rhus coriaria)

Authors: Taner PAMUKÇU, Şenay BERKİN, Ersin İSTANBULLUOĞLU

Abstract: Qurcetin was isolated from a common spice plant's seed called 'SUMAK' in Turkey. The plant quercetin induced mutarions in Salmonella typhimurium TA100 strain but not in Salmonella typhimurium TA98. Carcinogenicity of sumak seeds was tested by feeding experiment in rats. The food preapared in powdered form consisted of 1/3 ratio sumak seed was fed to albino rats for a period of 9-28 weeks. But, no carcinogenic effect was observed at the end of the feeding trials. The onset of carcinogenesis was not also seen in the animals belonging to two different control groups. Untreated contral rat were either fed with regular food or regular food plus 0.2% pure quercetin. The degenerative and inflammatory alterations seen at te histological sections of liver and kidney of few animals from all three groups were attributad to age, prolonged experimental period, management conditions and some other infections.

Keywords: Sumak: (Rhus corriaria), carcinioigenicity, mutagenicity.