Meat products with beetroot extract reduce DNA damage in mouse intestines

Red beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is known as the popular vegetable in Russian cuisine, as well as a plant food that protects human health. Beetroot is rich in chemical compounds with antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and other health-beneficial properties. Using the DNA-comet method (alkaline version), the effect of dry red beetroot extract was assessed as part of a meat product on spontaneous and induced DNA damage and presence of “abnormal comet” indicators in cells of various parts of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and liver of male F1 mice C.B.A. x C57 Bl /6. The obtained results showed that intraperitoneal administering of alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) to the mice at a dose of 40 mg/kg of the animal body weight statistically significantly increased the numerical value of DNA damage (% DNA in the tail) and the number of atypical DNA-comet in the liver, stomach, small and large intestines. Introduction of meat product with added red beetroot extract (20 g/kg of finished product) into the diet of the animals did not provide any significant effect on the scope of DNA damage caused by MMS in liver cells, but it led to a statistically significant decrease of this parameter by 58%, 59% and 48% in cells of the stomach, duodenum and rectum, respectively. The significant decrease of 29–54% in the release of atypical DNA-comet in the cells of all organs studied has been also confirmed, which proves decreasing in the cytotoxic effect of MMC in the gastrointestinal tract and liver. Thus, the antigenotoxic and cytoprotective effects of a meat product with addition of dry red beetroot extract have been recorded. This finding is able to have significant practical application, since the complications and issues in the gastrointestinal tract often occur and secondary tumors are induced in its parts during the chemotherapy of cancer located beyond the gastrointestinal tract. This result shows the potential ability of the developed meat product in protecting gastrointestinal tract cells from the genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of alkylating anticancer drugs