ASSESSMENT OF INTERACTIONS OF THE ANTIMALARIAL-DRUGS CHLOROQUINE AND MEFLOQUINE WITH NANO2 AND HGCL2 IN RODENTS

Chloroquine and mefloquine are antimalarial drugs widely used in Brazi l, especially in prospecting areas in the Amazonian region, where they may be associated with other compounds suspected to be genotoxic. Mef loquine was tested at doses of 150, 300, 600, and 1200 mg/kg body weig ht on Wistar rats and the animals were killed 6, 12 and 24 h later. No significant increase in chromatid gaps or breaks was induced by any o f the treatments. The drugs were associated with NaNO2 and HgCl2, and a slight induction of chromatid aberration frequencies occurred with N aNO2, particularly when associated with chloroquine. The HgCl2 did not show clastogenic activity in bone marrow cells of Wistar rats or indu ce micronuclei in BALB/c mice. The association of chloroquine and mefl oquine did not induce any clastogenic effect.