Investigation of genotoxic effects of the anti-asthmatic and anti-inflammatory drugs Apocynin and Acetosyringenin in the Salmonella typhimurium mutagenicity assay and the SCE-test with human lymphocytes.

We examined the possible genotoxicity of the recently isolated or developed anti-asthmatic and anti-inflammatory substances Apocynin (CAS 498-02-2) and Acetosyringenin (CAS 2478-38-8) using short term test systems. Apocynin is a constituent of Picrorhiza kurroa, a plant from the Himalaya region. Acetosyringenin is its methoxylated synthetic derivative. The test systems used were the Salmonella typhimurium mutagenicity assay (Ames test) with the tester strains TA 97, TA 98, TA 100, and TA 102, and the sister chromatid exchange assay (SCE-Test) performed with human peripheral lymphocytes. The genetic endpoints covered by these test systems are the induction of gene mutations and the induction of SCEs, which is interpreted as an indicator for DNA-damaging properties of the test compound. The results obtained with Apocynin and Acetosyringenin do not demonstrate genotoxic activities of these compounds regarding the investigated endpoints.