Amelioration of Cytogenotoxic Damage in Drug Abusers Supplemented with Folic Acid
Alejandro Salvador Gómez-Cabrera,
Ana Elizabeth González-Santiago,
José Francisco Rodríguez-Mora,
Guillermo Moisés Zúñiga-González,
Belinda Claudia Gómez-Meda,
Raúl Cuauhtémoc Baptista-Rosas,
Rolando Castañeda-Arellano,
Arieh Roldán Mercado-Sesma,
Laura Yareni Zúñiga,
María Guadalupe Sánchez-Parada
Affiliations
Alejandro Salvador Gómez-Cabrera
Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, División de Ciencias de la Salud, Centro Universitario de Tonalá, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Jalisco, Mexico
Ana Elizabeth González-Santiago
Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, División de Ciencias de la Salud, Centro Universitario de Tonalá, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Jalisco, Mexico
José Francisco Rodríguez-Mora
Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, División de Ciencias de la Salud, Centro Universitario de Tonalá, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Jalisco, Mexico
Guillermo Moisés Zúñiga-González
Laboratorio de Mutagénesis, Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Occidente, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico
Belinda Claudia Gómez-Meda
Instituto de Genética Humana Dr. Enrique Corona Rivera, Departamento de Biología Molecular y Genómica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico
Raúl Cuauhtémoc Baptista-Rosas
Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud-Enfermedad como Proceso Individual, Centro Universitario de Tonalá, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Jalisco, Mexico
Rolando Castañeda-Arellano
Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud-Enfermedad como Proceso Individual, Centro Universitario de Tonalá, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Jalisco, Mexico
Arieh Roldán Mercado-Sesma
Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud-Enfermedad como Proceso Individual, Centro Universitario de Tonalá, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Jalisco, Mexico
Laura Yareni Zúñiga
Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud-Enfermedad como Proceso Individual, Centro Universitario de Tonalá, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Jalisco, Mexico
María Guadalupe Sánchez-Parada
Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, División de Ciencias de la Salud, Centro Universitario de Tonalá, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Jalisco, Mexico
Background: Cytogenotoxic damage caused by the consumption of legal and illegal drugs in drug abusers has been demonstrated, primarily due to alterations in their antioxidant capacity, cellular repair mechanisms, and increased production of free radicals. Folic acid shows antioxidant activity by acting as a reducing agent, neutralizing present free radicals, and reducing genomic damage. Methods: The intervention involved administering 15 mg of folic acid, divided into three doses per day, to a group of 44 drug abusers. The frequency of nuclear abnormalities (NAs) was determined; micronuclei (MNs), nuclear buds (NBUDs), binucleated cells (BNs), abnormally condensed chromatin (CC), karyorrhexis (KX), pyknotic nuclei (PNs), and karyolysis (KL) were determined at different pre-treatment (baseline) and post-treatment time points at 15 and 30 days. Additionally, a group of 44 healthy individuals was used as the control group. Results: We observed a statistically significant decrease in the frequency of NAs in the drug abuser group (28.45 ± 17.74 before supplementation vs. 11.18 ± 7.42 at 15 days and 9.11 ± 10.9 at 30 days of supplementation). Specifically, it decreased the frequency of NBUDs, BNs, CC, KX, and PNs (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates a clear improvement in cytogenotoxic damage in drug abusers supplemented with folic acid.
