Antimutagenic and antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria of endemic Onobrychis tournefortii (Fabaceae) fruit extract and its anatomical characterisation

In this study, the anatomical definition, antimicrobial activity and antimutagenic effects of Onobrychis tournefortii were investigated. The antibacterial and antifungal activity of methanolic fruit extract of O. tournefortii (OtMFE) were investigated against various pathogen Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacteria and yeast. The findings demonstrated that this extract significantly inhibited the growth of several tested pathogenic microorganisms to varying degrees. The genotoxic effects in human lymphocyte cells in vitro were also assessed and confirmed by the micronucleus assay results. In addition, this study showed that O. tournefortii exhibits antigenotoxic activity against the mutagenicity of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). This is the first report demonstrating that (OtMFE) has antigenotoxic activity against AFB?-induced DNA damage in vitro human lymphocyte cells using the micronucleus (MN) assay. The anatomical features of the fruit of the species, particularly the presence of parallel three-ellipsoid outlines, and the presence of macrosclerides and one-row osteosclerides in the seed coat can be counted among the distinguishing features of the species. This study is the first to investigate the anatomical, antimicrobial and antigenotoxic properties of the Turkish endemic O. tournefortii fruit, contributing to both knowledge about the genus and the development of pharmacological products.