Protective Potential of Lavandulyl Acetate Against Palbociclib-Induced DNA Damage: A Comet Assay Analysis in Human Lymphocytes

Palbociclib (Pal), a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKi) used in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), has emerged as an effective anticancer agent. Lavandulyl acetate (LA), a monoterpene-derived constituent of lavender essential oil (LEO), is known for its antibacterial, antigenotoxic, and anticancer properties. Although chemotherapy primarily aims to eliminate cancer cells using anticancer agents, healthy cells are also unintentionally affected during treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the antigenotoxic and protective potential of LA against Pal-induced DNA damage in healthy human lymphocytes. The alkaline Comet Assay was employed to evaluate: (1) the genotoxic effects of a single dose of Pal (20 µM), (2) the genotoxicity of the highest concentration of LA (LA-H: 0.015 µg/mL), and (3) the antigenotoxic effects of three concentrations of LA administered simultaneously with Pal (LA-H: 0.015 µg/mL, LA-M: 0.007 µg/mL, and LA-L: 0.003 µg/mL). The results demonstrated that Pal induced significant DNA damage, whereas LA-H showed no genotoxic effects. In contrast, LA exhibited a protective effect against Pal-induced genotoxicity. Among the tested concentrations, LA-M displayed the highest antigenotoxic activity, providing protection rates of 114.67%, 125.33%, and 106.93% in tail intensity, tail length, and tail moment, respectively. In conclusion, this study is the first to comprehensively evaluate both the intrinsic genotoxic potential of lavandulyl acetate and its antigenotoxic activity against the anticancer drug Pal, highlighting its possible chemoprotective potential.