Preliminary findings of chromosomal studies on rats and humans with veno-occlusive disease

Peripheral blood chromosome studies were performed on 9 children in the acute and recovery phase of veno-occlusive disease (VOD) of the liver, which is thought to be due to the toxic effect of fulvine, an alkaloid in Crotalaria fulva a plant consumed as a herbal remedy in Jamaica. Similar studies were performed on rats in which VOD was induced by the experimental administration of fulvine. Significant percentages of mitotic cells showing chromosomal damage in the form of gaps, breaks, dicentrics and exchanges were found in 6 children tested within 3½ months from the time of ingestion of Crotalaria fulva and in rats up to 15 days after administration. This nuclear damage may correspond to the mutagenic effect observed in other pyrrolizidine alkaloids and the nuclear abnormalities observed in liver cells damaged acutely by fulvine and lasiocarpine.