Plant antimutagens and their mixtures in inhibition of genotoxic effects of xenobiotics and aging processes.

The antimutagenic effect of the bioactive compounds from fruits of Morus alba L. (MA), Punica granatum L. (PG), Diospyros kaki L. (DK), Cydonia oblonga Mill. (CO) and roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra (GG) were investigated. The antimutagenic effects of compounds separately as well as their action in complex mixtures were studied on mutations induced by genotoxicants (X-rays, N-methylnitrosourea, cyclophosphamide, NaF) and aging in bone marrow cell chromosomes from mice and rats. When tested separately and in a complex mixture, the plant products showed an ability to decrease the frequency of chromosome aberrations. The antimutagenic properties of the complex mixtures were considerably greater than those of the separate components. More antimutagenic activity of the mixture was revealed when mutagenesis was the result of X-rays and the natural aging processes.