Studies on potential mutagenic and genotoxic activity of Setarud

Background: Setarud (IMOD™) is a new herbal drug that has demonstrated immune modulating activity in preliminary investigations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of mutagenicity and genotoxic properties of Setarud following the guidelines of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the Testing of Chemicals. Methods: Ames Salmonella/mammalian microsome mutagenesis assay was used to evaluate the ability of the drug and its metabolites to induce mutation in Salmonella tester strains. Setarud was applied in concentrations of 0.1-1000 µg/dish. The effect of the drug metabolites which were formed in the presence of rat liver microsomal fraction S9 was investigated using complete and incomplete microsomal activation mixtures, separately. Induction of dominant lethal mutations in spermatogenic stem cells of male mice was also assessed. Results: In the Ames test, the drug preparation did not cause a significant increase in the number of revertant bacterial colonies as compared with negative control meaning that Setarud within the tested range did not exhibit mutagenic activity. The level of postimplantation losses and as a result the number of lethal mutations in germ cells at different stages of spermatogenesis in mice treated with Setarud was not statistically higher than that of control.