Coumarin inhibits micronuclei formation induced by benzo(a)pyrene in male but not female ICR mice.

Coumarin has been shown to be an effective inhibitor of carcinogenesis in rodents if given before and during the carcinogen treatment. We investigated the possibility that pretreatment with coumarin would inhibit the genotoxicity of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) in ICR mice as indicated by the bone marrow micronucleus test, a widely used in vivo test for genotoxicity. Our studies showed that pretreatment of male mice with doses of coumarin at 65 or 130 mg/kg/day for 1 week (with 1 day of no treatment at midweek) partially inhibited the genotoxicity of BP at a single intraperitoneal dose of 150 mg/kg. Time course experiments showed a decrease in induced micronuclei in the bone marrow at several time points after the BP treatment, thus indicating a true inhibition and not a lag in the induction of micronuclei. However, no inhibition in micronuclei formation was seen in female mice pretreated with the same doses of coumarin. Coumarin treatment alone did not induce micronuclei in either sex. Future studies are needed to analyze the mechanisms responsible for the difference noted between the sexes.