Abstract

Summary Although the use of bismuth compounds widespread in medical and several industries, little is known about the genotoxicity of these compounds. In this study, the genotoxic effect of colloidal bismuth subcitrate (CBS) on human peripheral blood cultures was investigated by Sister-Chromatid Exchange (SCE) test. Whole heparinized blood samples were obtained from twenty healthy non-smoking individuals between the ages of 25 and 28 with no history of exposure to any genotoxic agent. CBS with various concentrations (50, 100 and 200 µg/L of Bi) were applied to human lymphocytes cultures. SCEs were visualized by a combination of fluorescent and Giemsa techniques. In comparison to control groups, the increasing concentrations of CBS (100 and 200 µg/L of Bi) elevated the frequencies of SCE. However, no significant increase was observed at the lowest dose (P>0.05) (50 µg/L of Bi). Present results revealed that the genotoxic effect of CBS was dose-dependent in human blood cultures.