Fisetin is a plant flavonoid found in strawberries and other fruits and vegetables such as apples, persimmons, and onions. It has many pharmacological effects like anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and anti-carcinogenicity which are attributed to its ability to reduce oxidative stress which considers the main reason for different disease conditions. Genotoxicity refers to the genetic material destruction within the cell which can be caused by different chemicals as well as radiation. The present study evaluates the effect of orally-administered fisetin daily for seven constitutive days on genotoxicity induced by cyclophosphamide in rats’ bone marrow and spleen cells. Results showed that fisetin exhibited a non-significant increase in total chromosomal aberrations, mitotic index, and micronucleus appearance in comparison with the same parameters in control group rats (p>0.05); and it produces protection when administered before cyclophosphamide by causing significant decrease (p 0.05) in the total chromosomal aberrations, chromatid breaks, ring chromosome, and chromosomal breaks in BM cells and total chromosomal aberrations and chromosomal breaks in spleen cells were shown. In conclusion, fisetin has no genotoxic effect on bone marrow and spleen cells when orally administered alone to rats, and it exhibits some protection against cyclophosphamide-induced genotoxicity.
