Chromosome-damaging effects of heraclenin in human lymphocytes in vitro

Heraclenin, a furocoumarin with an epoxide group in its side chain, was analyzed to see if it induced structural chromosome aberrations and sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in human lymphocytes in vitro. The results were compared directly with those of imperatorin, which differs from heraclenin only in lacking an epoxide group. An equally strong clastogenic effect was found for both heraclenin and imperatorin: the number of metaphases with breaks was increased in both cases by approximately a factor of 6. Heraclenin produced a considerable dose-dependent increase in the SCE rate, i.e., by about 60 induced SCEs/metaphase, whereas imperatorin induced only about 4 SCEs/metaphase. The results are discussed with respect to the occurrence of structural aberrations, which are primarily due to the basic furocoumarin structure itself, whereas the large increase in the SCE rate produced by heraclenin is most probably significantly influenced by its epoxide group.