In vivo evaluation of the toxic activity and genotoxicity of the Hymenaea courbaril L.’s resin in Drosophila melanogaster

Due to the negative consequences carried by the usage of synthetic insecticides, a global interest into finding substitutes for these chemical compounds through natural products has arisen. When yielded to external attacks, plants generally produce metabolites to defend themselves. The physicochemical characteristics of this kind of compounds have allowed their usage as potential bioinsecticides. The Hymenaea courbaril L. (algarrobo) has proven to be a plant rich in metabolites with outstanding biological activity, in such a way that some of its extracts have been tested as insecticides. The goal of this study was to know the phytochemical composition of Hymenaea courbaril L.’s resin and perform evaluations in vivo of its toxic and genotoxic effects in the biological model Drosophila melanogaster. For this, two resin extracts were prepared and both a phytochemical analysis were carried out on them, having found in the ethanolic total extract the presence of terpenes, flavonoids and coumarins, while in the partial ethanolic extract only presence of terpenes and flavonoids was found. Drosophila larvae were submitted to different concentrations of the extracts and both the survival and the sexual ratio were evaluated, finding that larvae are more sensitive to the partial ethanolic extract. Subsequently, the induction of somatic mutation and mitotic recombination (SMART) was evaluated in the flies’ eyes. The most significant affectations at a genotoxic level were found when larvae were tested with the partial extract, indicating that possibly the coumarins absence makes this insect more susceptible to damages at a genetic material level.