The Faculty of Pharmacy discussed the Master’s Degree thesis, tagged “Evaluation of the Genoprotective Effect of Omega-7 against Methotrexate Genotoxicity in Bone Marrow Cells and Spleen Cells in Mice,” by Zahraa Hilal Hassani and her supervisor, Assistant Professor Dr. Ali Faris Hassan, of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, on July 13, 2023. This study was designed to investigate the genoprotective effect of omega-7 in two different doses (50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg) against genotoxicity induced by methotrexate in mice bone marrow cells and spleen cells by evaluating important parameters, which are the mitotic index, total chromosomal aberration, and micronucleus appearance, and measuring the complete blood picture in mice. The thesis included the use of seventy mice weighing 23–27 gm. Five groups (each of fourteen) were created from these mice. Group I received liquid paraffin orally for seven successive days. Group II: received liquid paraffin orally for seven successive days, followed by a single intraperitoneal dose of methotrexate (20 mg/kg) on the eighth day. Group III: received omega-7 (50 mg/kg) orally for seven successive days, followed by a single intraperitoneal dose of methotrexate (20 mg/kg) on the eighth day. Group IV: received omega-7 (100 mg/kg) orally for seven successive days, followed by a single intraperitoneal dose of methotrexate (20 mg/kg) on the eighth day. Group V: received omega-7 (100 mg/kg) orally for seven successive days. On the ninth day, each group was divided into two parts:each with seven mice, the first part was intraperitoneally injected with 1 mg/kg colchicine, and under diethyl ether anesthesia, blood samples were collected by the retro-orbital route used to measure the complete blood picture, and then after two hours, all mice were sacrificed by spinal dislocation. Bone marrow cells and spleen cells of the first part were used to measure the mitotic index and chromosomal aberrations, and bone marrow cells of the second part were used to measure the appearance of the micronucleus.The results showed the treatment of mice with omega-7 led to a significant decline in chromosomal aberration and micronucleus aberrance with a significant elevation of the mitotic index as compared with methotrexate in a dose-dependent manner with a non-significant effect on the complete blood picture in mice.
