Cytogenetic effect of chlordiazepoxide on the bone marrow cells of Swiss mice in vivo.

Chromosomal preparations were examined for structural and numerical abnormalities induced by chlordiazepoxide (CDZ) in mice which received either a single oral dose (20 mg/kg) or multiple doses (10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) for time-response and dose-response studies, respectively. The sampling was done at different post-treatment hours. The structural aberrations recorded were mostly of the chromatid type. CDZ induced a significant increase in chromosomal aberration frequencies at all sampling hours with a peak at 32 h post-treatment. In dose-response studies all the dose groups showed a significant increase over controls but the effect was maximum at the lowest dose level.