The micronucleus test and sister-chromatic exchange (SCE) test were us
ed to research the antimutagenic effect of pine needle extract. The re
sults showed that the mutagenic effect of cyclophosphamide (CP) was in
hibited by the pine needle extract. The micronucleus frequencies (MNF)
of mouse bone marrow and human lymphocytes from peripheral blood were
decreased with the effect of the extract (the dose was 2000 mg/kg or
5 mg/ml); the frequency of SCE in human lymphocytes was also reduced s
ignificantly, which indicated that the MNF and the SCE frequencies wer
e negatively correlated with the dose of pine needle extract (r = -0.9
782, -0.9587, -0.9765, respectively). This suggested that the pine nee
dle extract was an effective antimutagen and it is important to choose
the proper doses of pine needle extract for antitumor effect.