LACK OF GENOTOXIC EFFECTS OF PIPERINE, (THE ACTIVE PRINCIPLE OF BLACK PEPPER) IN ALBINO MICE

The potency of piperine, the active principle of black pepper, to induce micro-nuclei in bone-marrow erythrocytes and dominant-lethal mutations was investigated in male mice. Preliminary studies indicated that piperine administered (i.p.) to adult male mice at sublethal doses of 1,2 or 4 mg/kg b.w. (1/20, 1/10 or 1/15 LD₅₀) on 5 consecutive days did not induce any clinical signs of toxicity or any significant alterations in epididymal weights, testicular weights or tes-ticular histology. In the bone-marrow micronucleus assay, piperine induced no significant increase in micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes suggesting its nonclastogenic nature at the tested doses. Further, it also failed to induce dominant-lethal mutations during an 8–week sequential mating schedule of males at a dosage of 4 mg/kg b.w./ day for 5 days. The caudal sperm counts and the incidence of sperm-head abnormalities measured at 1,3,5 and 7 week were not altered in Piperine administered males at any of the doses.