## 3 Results and Discussion
### Genotoxic/Genoprotective Effect of Mountain Germander Extract on Model DNA Macromolecule  
The potential of MG extract to indirectly induce or suppress the oxidation of genetic material through the ROS formation was tested on the model plasmid phiX174 RF1 DNA. Figure 2 shows a gel image with detected bands of the relaxed (RCP) and supercoiled (SCCP) forms of plasmid after the treatment with the extract within a certain concentration range, and under H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\) photolysis stimulated by UV radiation. The processing of the obtained images in the GelAnalyzer program resulted in the calculated ratios of SCCP and RCP plasmid (Figure 3). Due to the action of the hydroxyl radical, higher DNA damage will visually result in a more intense upper band of the relaxed form of DNA, or, in other words, higher content of DNA fragments as a result of the unwinding of the supercoiled DNA form. Considering the positive and negative control, a statistically significant (\(p<0.05\)) genotype effect of the highest concentration of MG extract (0.500 mg mL\({}^{-1}\)) on the model plasmid was observed. Although the concentration of 0.050 mg mL\({}^{-1}\) was not statistically significant compared to the positive control, it shows that the ratio between the supercoiled and the relaxed form increased by 64% compared to the treatment of the plasmid with a combination of UV radiation and H\({}_{2}\)0\({}_{2}\) (PC), i.e., the pro-oxidant damage was significantly lower. It is important to observe that, although there is significantly (\(p<0.05\)) higher plasmid damage when treated with concentrations of 0.025, 0.050, and 0.150 mg mL\({}^{-1}\) compared to the negative control, this effect generally decreases with an increasing concentration MG extract. Figure 1: Protein oxidation rate of bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein treated with Mountain Germander extract concentrations (0.025–0.500 mg mL\({}^{-1}\)). Statistical data processing was carried out by one-way analysis of variance with [PERSON]’s post hoc test. * = statistically significantly different (\(p<0.05\)) compared to the negative control (water); a = statistically significantly different (\(p<0.05\)) compared to 0.025 mg mL\({}^{-1}\); b = statistically significantly different (\(p<0.05\)) compared to 0.050 mg mL\({}^{-1}\); c = statistically significantly different (\(p<0.05\)) compared to 0.150 mg mL\({}^{-1}\); d = statistically significantly different (\(p<0.05\)) compared to 0.500 mg mL\({}^{-1}\). [PERSON] et al. (2020) [19] also investigated the effect of aqueous, methanolic, and ethanolic extracts of MG at concentrations of 0.1, 0.5, and 1 mg mL\({}^{-1}\) on the model plasmid pUC19, isolated from _E. coli_ by applying a combined treatment of H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\) and UV radiation to the supercoiled DNA to induce damage. The lowest percentage of the damaged or relaxed form was found in the aqueous extract (<5%) compared to the alcoholic extract (10-15%), with a significantly higher genotype effect in relation to the tested positive control. The genoprotective effect on the model plasmid may be partly attributed to the presence of phenylethanolamine glycosides in the polyphenic extract. Although the effects on preventing and/or slowing down the oxidation processes of genetic material have been insufficiently studied, the available studies indicate the valuable antioxidant potential of  
Figure 3: The effect of Mountain Germander extract concentrations (0.025–0.500 mg mL\({}^{-1}\)) on DNA plasmid oxidative damage. SCCP/RCP = ratio of supercoiled and relaxed circular plasmid; NC = sum of all tested negative control; PC = positive control (plasmid + H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\) + UV radiation). Statistical data processing was carried out by one-way analysis of variance with [PERSON]’s post hoc test.