Protective effects of a mixture of antioxidant vitamins and minerals on the genotoxicity of doxorubicin in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster

Antioxidant vitamins are able to deactivate highly bioactive molecules, such as free radicals, that are generated during cellular biochemical processes. Doxorubicin (DXR) is a cancer chemotherapeutic agent that generates free radicals as a byproduct. In the present study, the Drosophila melanogaster somatic wing spot test was used to evaluate the effects of a mixture of vitamins (Vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene) and minerals (copper, selenium, and zinc), commercially known as Vitergan Zinc Plus, on the genotoxicity of DXR in standard and high-bioactivation crosses of flies. 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/ml of the vitamin/mineral mixture by itself was nongenotoxic in the trans-heterozygous descendants of both crosses, while the mixture produced a significant reduction in the genotoxicity produced by 0.125 mg/ml DXR in the trans-heterozygous descendants of both crosses. The protective effect was observed when the larvae received either pre- or cotreatments of the multivitamin/mineral (MV) mixture. The results indicate that, under these experimental conditions, the MV mixture is not genotoxic; however, it protects against the genotoxic effects of the chemotherapeutic free-radical generator DXR.