Assessment of in vitro genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of flurbiprofen on human cultured lymphocytes

Abstract

Flurbiprofen is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug which is commonly used for its analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory effects. The purpose of the study was to explore the genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of flurbiprofen in human cultured lymphocytes by sister chromatid exchange, chromosome aberration, and cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus tests. 10, 20, 30, and 40 μg/mL concentrations of flurbiprofen (solvent is DMSO) were used to treatment of human cultured lymphocytes at two different treatment periods (24 and 48 h). Flurbiprofen had no significant genotoxic effect in any of these tests. But exposing to flurbiprofen for 24 and 48 h led to significant decrease on proliferation index, mitotic index, and nuclear division index (NDI). Also, all decreases were concentration-dependent (except NDI at 24 h treatment period). Consequently, the findings of this research showed that flurbiprofen had cytotoxic effects in human blood lymphocytes.