Dietary garlic extract in modifying clastogenic effects of inorganic arsenic in mice: two-generation studies

Abstract

Mice were fed by gavage crude garlic extract (100 mg/kg b.wt.) for 30 consecutive days. One set was administered sodium arsenite (0.1 mg/kg b.wt.) simultaneously. Another set was treated with sodium arsenite only. Mice given distilled water were kept as negative control. Exposed mice from each set were sacrificed and bone marrow preparations examined for chromosomal aberrations and damaged cells. Sodium arsenite is a strong clastogen and the effects were reduced to a significant level by prolonged administration of garlic extract. For F₁ studies, exposed male mice were mated with exposed female mice and the progeny examined. In the progeny, clastogenic effects of sodium arsenite persisted in a lower degree, indicating that the metal is able to cross the transplacental barrier. There was no statistically significant difference between the effects in progeny of parents only given sodium arsenite and those given both the metallic salt and garlic extract. Garlic extract is able to reduce the clastogenic effects of sodium arsenite when given simultaneously for prolonged periods in the parents; however, the effect is meagre in the next generation.