Endemic Iris taochia extract curbs mutagen-induced DNA damage in fruit fly larvae

Exposure to environmental mutagens can inflict genetic damage and contribute to diseases including cancer, driving a continuing search for natural compounds that might blunt such harm. A new study published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research examined the endemic plant Iris taochia Woronow ex Grossh. (Iridaceae), testing whether its extracts could counter DNA damage induced by alkylating agents in the in vivo model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Using the wing Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test, known as the SMART assay, the researchers evaluated the plant’s protective potential against two well-characterized mutagens, ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) and cyclophosphamide (CP).

The investigation began with a comparative phytochemical and antioxidant profiling of three extracts of the plant: aqueous, ethanol, and methanol. The team measured total phenolic and flavonoid contents and ran three complementary antioxidant assays, DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP. The methanol extract came out on top, showing the highest phenolic content at 85.4 mg gallic acid equivalents per gram and the highest flavonoid content at 42.1 mg quercetin equivalents per gram, along with the strongest antioxidant activity across the assays. On the strength of these results, the methanol extract of I. taochia, abbreviated ITME, was selected for the subsequent biological evaluation in the fly model.

In the SMART assay, third-instar Drosophila larvae were exposed to different concentrations of ITME ranging from 0.625 to 10 mg/mL, either alone or in combination with EMS or CP. The extract alone did not induce any genotoxic effects at the tested concentrations, an important baseline finding indicating that ITME itself is not damaging DNA under these conditions. In contrast, both mutagens significantly increased clone formation frequencies, confirming their genotoxic activity in the assay. When ITME was co-administered with the mutagens, the extent of mutagen-induced genetic damage fell in a concentration-dependent manner for CP, with inhibition rates reaching 78.42%. Protection against EMS followed a different pattern: the response was non-monotonic, peaking at 63.46% inhibition at 5 mg/mL and partially declining at the highest tested concentration of 10 mg/mL.

The authors propose that the extract’s phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity could plausibly contribute to the observed protection, though they note this mechanism was not directly tested in the study. The findings, reported in 2026, position the methanol extract of this endemic iris as a candidate natural protective agent against environmentally induced genetic damage, while the non-monotonic EMS response and the indirect nature of the mechanistic proposal underline that further work would be needed to establish how the protection operates and whether it extends beyond the fruit fly model.

Subject of Research: Antigenotoxic effects of Iris taochia extracts against alkylating agent-induced DNA damage in Drosophila melanogaster

Article Title: Protective effects of the endemic plant Iris taochia against alkylating agent-induced genotoxicity in the Drosophila melanogaster SMART assay

Article References: Ozcelik, O., & Ayar, A. (2026). Protective effects of the endemic plant Iris taochia against alkylating agent-induced genotoxicity in the Drosophila melanogaster SMART assay. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-026-38309-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s11356-026-38309-3

Keywords: Iris taochia, Drosophila melanogaster, SMART assay, genotoxicity, antigenotoxicity, alkylating agents, cyclophosphamide, ethyl methanesulfonate, phenolic content, antioxidant activity, environmental toxicology, endemic plant