SHARK-CARTILAGE CONTAINING PREPARATION PROTECTS CELLS AGAINST HYDROGEN-PEROXIDE INDUCED DAMAGE AND MUTAGENESIS

Natural products from flora and fauna are frequently used as nutrition al supplements and medicaments. Two short-term assays were carried out and negative results were obtained for shark-cartilage containing pre paration. The tests employed were the Salmonella/mammalian microsome a ssay using tester strains TA97, TA98, TA100, TA102 and TA1535 with or without S9 mix and the SOS-Chromotest with Escherichia coli strain PQ3 7. Evidence for shark-cartilage containing preparation functioning as an antimutagen was detected. Using bacterial survival assays with Esch erichia coli fpg (BH20) and xthA (BW9091), we investigated the putativ e role of shark-cartilage containing preparation in protecting cells a gainst lesions induced by hydrogen peroxide in normal and low iron lev el conditions. Our data suggest that shark-cartilage containing prepar ation can play a scavenger role for reactive oxygen species and protec t against DNA lesions in both conditions.