Caffeic acid as an inhibitor of DMBA-induced chromosomal breakage in mice assessed by bone-marrow micronucleus test.

Female mice of hybrid strain B6C3F1, 8-10 weeks old, were fed on powdered food with or without 2% caffeic acid. After one week on these diets, some of each group of mice were injected i.p., with 7,12-dimethyl benz[a]anthracene (25 mg/kg) dissolved in dimethyl disulfoxide. In the course of separate experiments, bone-marrow samples were taken at various intervals after injection for analysis in the micronucleus assay. From each mouse 500 polychromatic erythrocytes were scored to determine the frequency with micronuclei. At the time at which the maximum response was observed, which differed between experiments, the frequency of micronuclei induced by DMBA was reduced by 50% by the presence of caffeic acid. Caffeic acid (3,4-dihydroxy cinnamic acid) is widely distributed in plant materials in both free and combined forms and, as such, is a component of the human diet. Our results suggest that caffeic acid provides significant protection against the genotoxicity of DMBA.