Research Information System
FRESENIUS ENVIRONMENTAL BULLETIN, vol.17, no.12B, pp.2180-2186, 2008 (SCI-Expanded)
Naturally occurring compounds capable of protection against UV and chemical mutagens have considerable potential for prevention of mutation-based health impairment including cancer and other degenerative diseases. In this study, the protective effect of chlorophyll a (Chl-a) and chlorophyll b (Chl-b) in response to UVB was investigated using Drosophila somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) in vivo. UVB doses of 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 J/cm(2) increased the frequency of all categories of spots. indicating that UVB was potentially genotoxic. Pre-treatment and chronic co-treatment was comparatively used for the antigenotoxicity study. In the first group. 48 4 hours Drosophila larvae were first exposed to antigenotoxic doses, then they were exposed to the doses of UVB at 72 +/- 4 hours. In the second group, both antigenotoxic agents and UVB were exposed to 72 +/- 4 hours Drosophila larvae simultaneously. When the results were compared with the results of individuals irritated only genotoxic doses, it was observed that chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b were decreased genotoxicity caused by UVB. Our results show that the protective effect of chlorophyll-b is higher than chlorophyll-a. Moreover, decreasing rate in genotoxicity was higher at 48 +/- 4 hours' pre-treatment groups than at 72 +/- 4 hours' co-treatment groups. The obtained results showed that three doses of both chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b (0.5. 1 and 2 mu M) have effective protection against UVB in Drosophila.