Antigenotoxic effects of royal jelly in the sex linked recessive lethal test with Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

The antitoxic and antimutagenic effect of royal jelly was assayed by a standard testing procedure on Drosophila melanogaster. The similarity of metabolic pathways between Drosophila and mammals makes the test widely applicable for detecting the impact of various potential promutagens and antimutagenic effects could be recognized accordingly. The flies were treated with the potent mutagen MMS, alone and combined with royal jelly. The frequency of sterile males and sex linked recessive lethal mutations increased significantly after MMS treatment and decreased after combined treatment. The results strongly indicate that, in addition to its well documented action on development, life-span and reproductive ability, royal jelly has an antimutagenic potential as well.