In vitro genotoxic studies of Thai noni fruit juice by chromosomal aberration and sister chromatid exchange assays in human lymphocytes

Abstract

The genotoxic effects of Noni fruit juice (NFJ) produced in Thailand were studied in human lymphocytes using chromosomal aberration and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assays in vitro. Treatment of NFJ (0.15%-2.5% v/v) alone for 3h did not induce chromosomal aberration nor SCE significantly although high concentration of 5% showed toxicity to the cells with low mitotic index (M.I.). NFJ at 0.3% is the optimum dose for cell survival and cell replication as demonstrated by the highest value of M.I. and proliferation index (P.I.). Our data indicate that Thai NFJ is not genotoxic against human lymphocytes in spite of cytotoxicity at higher doses (5% or higher). Therefore, the optimum dose of NFJ is needed to be determined and investigated further for the benefit of the human body.