Table 2.

Genotoxicity (single treatment) of epicarp and mesocarp of two varieties of C. pepo and its active compounds (lutein, β-carotene, zeaxanthin and dehydroascorbic acid) in the Drosophila Wing Spot Test.

Clones Per Wing (Number of Spots) 1
Compound	N	Small Spots (1–2 Cells) m = 2	Large Spots (>2 Cells) m = 5	Twin Spots m = 5	Total Spots m = 2	Mann-Whitney Test 3
Negative Control (H2O)	40	0.08 (3) 2	0.00 (0)	0.05 (2)	0.13 (5)
Epicarp
Yellow (mg/mL)
0.25	40	0.15 (6)	0.00 (0)	0.03 (1)	0.18 (7)	n.s.
8	40	0.00 (0)	0.00 (0)	0.03 (1)	0.03 (1)	n.s.
Light Green (mg/mL)
0.25	40	0.10 (4)	0.03 (1)	0.00 (0)	0.13 (5)	n.s.
8	40	0.05 (2)	0.00 (0)	0.00 (0)	0.05 (2)	n.s.
Mesocarp
Yellow (mg/mL)
0.25	40	0.08 (3)	0.03 (1)	0.00 (0)	0.10 (4)	n.s.
8	40	0.05 (2)	0.00 (0)	0.00 (0)	0.05 (2)	n.s.
Light Green (mg/mL)
0.25	40	0.03 (1)	0.03 (1)	0.00 (0)	0.05 (2)	n.s.
8	40	0.03 (1)	0.03 (1)	0.00 (0)	0.05 (2)	n.s.
Single Compounds
Lutein (μM)
0.039	40	0.15 (6)	0.08 (3)	0.00 (0)	0.23 (9)	n.s.
0.615	40	0.33 (13)	0.08 (3)	0.05 (2)	0.45 (18)	n.s.
β-carotene (μM)
0.0003	36	0.08 (3)	0.00 (0)	0.00 (0)	0.08 (3)	n.s.
0.0689	40	0.03 (1)	0.03 (1)	0.00 (0)	0.05 (2)	n.s.
Zeaxanthin (μM)
0.0001	40	0.05 (2)	0.00 (0)	0.00 (0)	0.05 (2)	n.s.
0.105	40	0.10 (4)	0.03 (1)	0.03 (1)	0.15 (6)	n.s.
DHA (mM)
0.003	40	0.10 (4)	0.03 (1)	0.00 (0)	0.13 (5)	n.s.
0.107	40	0.15 (6)	0.03 (1)	0.00 (0)	0.18 (7)	n.s.

¹ Statistical diagnosis by Frei and Würgler [38]. N: number of wings; ² Number of clones or spots per wing; ³ The inconclusive results were resolved using the non-parametric U-Test Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon. n.s.: non-significant. DHA: Dehydroascorbic acid. m: multiplication factor.