EVALUATION OF THE MUTAGENICITY OF THE MOLLUSCICIDAL LATEX OF CHRISTS-CROWN (EUPHORBIA-MILII VAR HISLOPII) IN MAMMALIAN-CELLS IN-VITRO AND IN-VIVO

The latex of Christ's Crown (Euphorbia milli var. hislopii, syn. E. sp lendens var. hislopii) is a highly active plant molluscicide and could be used for snail control to reduce the prevalence of schistosomiasis in endemic areas. In the course of its toxicological evaluation, the mutagenicity of the latex of Euphorbia milii was tested in mammalian c ells in vitro and in vivo. Latex was investigated for its capability o f inducing gene mutations and chromosome aberrations in V79 cells in t he absence and presence of SE-mix. Concentrations up to 800 mu g/ml ne ither induced gene mutations at the HPRT locus nor chromosome aberrati ons. Latex had no effect on the frequencies of chromosome aberrations in the bone marrow of male and female rats at a dose of 1000 mg/kg. Th e results indicate that latex of E. milii is not mutagenic in mammalia n cells in vitro and in vivo and its use as a molluscicide does not po se a mutagenic hazard for humans.