Study of the mutagenicity of "Hypiran" and "Sankol" in human blood cells and comparison with hydrogen peroxide by single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) or comet assay.

Due to the increased use and availability of herbal medicinal products, it has been necessary to perform investigations pertaining to their toxicological safety. The aim of this study was to use the rapid and sensitive technique of Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) or "Comet Assay" to assess the mutagenic potential of two such products: "Hypiran" and "Sankol." The results were compared against positive (hydrogen peroxide) and negative (no mutagen) control groups. The instances of DNA damage were observed in 25 randomly selected cells and viewed under a fluorescence microscope following electrophoresis and staining with ethidium bromide. Both microscopic inspection and calculation of the number of affected/damaged cells were encouraging and were comparable to the observations of previous studies using SCGE. The total instances of cell damage in the presence of "Hypiran" increased as the dose increased, with all 25 cells exhibiting fragmentation at the highest dose. However, "Sankol" only exhibited some damage (8-12% of cells) at all doses. The results obtained suggest that in vitro, "Hypiran" produces dose dependent DNA damage and therefore may possess some mutagenic potential. Compared to the positive control, no significant DNA damage was observed with "Sankol" and hence this compound may have no mutagenic potential. However, further study is required before a full evaluation of these products can be made.