ASSESSMENT OF THE GENOTOXICITY OF BUTYLPARABEN IN HUMAN LYMPHOCYTES USING THE COMET ASSAY AND CYTOKINESIS-BLOCK MICRONUCLEUS TEST

As a member ofthe paraben family butylparaben is one of the most common preservative additivein foods, pharmaceuticals and personal care products because of itsantimicrobial and antifungal activities. In this study, the genotoxicity ofbutylparaben was investigated in human peripheral blood lymphocytes by usingcytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) test and Comet assay. In addition, thecytokinesis block proliferation index (CBPI) was measured for cytotoxicity.Human lymphocytes were exposed to butylparaben different concentrations (10, 25,50 and 100 µg/ml) for 24 and 48 hours at 37°C in CBMN test. For comet assayfreshly isolated human lymphocytes were exposed butlyparaben (10, 25, 50 and125 µg/ml) for an hour. Decreased CBPI-values was observed at all doselevels. A dose and time dependentincrease of the micronucleated (MN) cell frequency was observed. In comet assaybutlyparaben increased the DNA migration in a dose-dependent manner. Theresults demonstrated that butylparaben has genotoxic potential on humanlymphocytes. &nbsp