Citral, a component of lemongrass oil inhibits the clastogenic effect of nickel chloride in mouse micronucleus test system.

Citral is a major component of Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass oil). The aqueous suspension of citral (60 mg/kg body weight, per oral) treated for one week was tested for the anti-clastogenic effect using mouse micronucleus test system. A known mutagen nickel (Nickel chloride-10 mg/kg, b.w. intra-peritoneal) was used to induce the nuclear damage measured in polychromatic erythrocytes and normochromatic erythrocytes. The frequency of the micronucleated erythrocytes were studied in peripheral blood and bone marrow after 24, 48 and 72 hours of mutagenic exposure. The antioxidant activity of citral was tested in vitro by superoxide scavenging method. The results indicated that citral significantly (P<0.01) inhibited the formation of micronuclei induced by nickel. Further, a good superoxide scavenging activity (EC50=19 mcg/ml) was observed in citral treated groups, suggesting that the antioxidant action could be responsible for the anti-clastogenic effect of citral against nickel chloride.

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