In vivo effects of chlorophyllin on the antitumour agent cyclophosphamide.

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is a potent antitumour agent used against many forms of cancer and against certain other diseases. Chlorophyllin (CHL), which is obtained by hydrolysis of chlorophyll to remove phytyl alcohol, is an efficient antimutagenic agent and has been used as a dietary supplement or to diminish the intensity of the discomforting side effects of CP therapy. We undertook to determine the antimutagenic effectiveness of CHL against CP in a mouse model and to determine whether the antitumour efficacy of CP was compromised in vivo by CHL treatment. Experiments utilised CHL administered either in drinking water (1%) for 2 days before treatment, or by gavage (200 mg/kg) 2 hr before treatment with CP (220 mg/kg). Urinary mutagenicity following CP treatment, as determined by the Salmonella/microsome assay, was decreased by both regimes of CHL co-treatment. Similarly, the increase in micronuclei in bone marrow polychromatic erythrocytes in response to CP was reduced by concomitant CHL treatment. In contrast, antitumour efficacy, as determined by growth delay of Colon 38 adenocarcinomas, was not diminished by CHL treatment. We conclude that CHL may have beneficial effects when used in combination with CP therapy.