Effects of Vanillic Acid Against Mitomycin C-Induced Genomic Damage in Human Lymphocytes in Vitro

The hydroxylated derivatives of benzoic and cinnamic acids are known as phenolic acids. Vanillic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid, Figure 1) is a dietary phenolic compound found in plants and fruits (Duke, 1992) and an intermediate in the production of vanillin from ferulic acid (Lesage-Meessen, 1996; Civolani, 2000). Additionally, vanillic acid is a metabolic product of caffeic acid that is found in the urine of humans after consuming coffee, chocolate or green tea (Falconnier et al., 1994) and it can exhibit antioxidant, antimicrobial and antimalarial activity (Rechner et al., 2001; Yemis et al., 2011). It is a key component of the vanilla plant and in recent years, it has been used as a preservative and antiseptic agent in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries (Boyce et al., 2003). Despite its wide application, the effects of vanillic acid on human health are not yet fully understood, particularly from the genotoxicity perspective. Mitomycin C (MMC) is an antibiotic drug from the DNA alkylating agent group. It has potent DNA cross-linking activity and creates oxidative damage within the cell (Gresolia, 2002; Pawar et al., 2009). MMC induces clastogenesis and mutagenesis and inhibits DNA synthesis, therefore showing strong genotoxic effects (Sontakke and Fulzele, 2009). Due to these properties, MMC has been used as