Evaluation of in vitro anti-genotoxic potential of melatonin against arsenic and fluoride in human blood cultures

Abstract

Melatonin has been known for its anti-oxidant potential but not much studied for the anti-genotoxic potential. The current study elucidate the role of melatonin against in vitro genototxicity by arsenic (As) and fluoirde (F). Human peripheral blood cultures were exposed to As (1.4μM) and F (34μM), alone and in combination, with and without melatonin (0.2mM). Ethyle methane sulphonate (EMS; 1.9mM) was selected as the positive control to analyze the genotoxic parameters like sister chrmatid exchanges (SCEs), cell cycle proliferative index (CCPI) and primary DNA damage. The frequency of SCE/cell, SCE/chromosome and primary DNA damage reduced significantly (p<0.001) accompanied with a marked increase in CCPI upon addtion of melatonin. Similarly marked recovery was attained by melatonin from As and F induced primary DNA damage as studied using comet assay. The results clearly indicate towards the protection of lymphocytes from toxic effects af As and F by melatonin in vitro.