A new approach for prevention the oxidations and mutations: Zinc borate

Zinc borate is a white crystalline powder substance with variable composition(34% B2O3, 45% ZnO and 20% H2O). It is used as a fungus and mildew inhibitor, tofire proof textiles, and for other uses. Although there are limited studies about thebiologic properties of this compound. The present study was aimed to investigatethe antioxidant and antimutagenic activity of zinc borate and also to figure outits cytotoxic effect. Antioxidant activity of zinc borate was determined with βcarotene linoleic acid and DPPH radical scavenging assays. The mutagenicity andantimutagenic activity was determined with AMES/ Salmonella microsomal testsystems using Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains. The cytotoxiceffect of zinc borate was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay using mouse fibroblast L929 cell line. Whencompared to the control, % inhibition values of 1 mg/mL zinc borate for DPPHradical scavenging and β- carotene linoleic acid tests were calculated as 13.50%and 30%, respectively. At the tested concentrations, zinc borate did not exhibitany mutagenic effect. Zinc borate exhibited low antimutagenic activity at 0.2 and0.04 mg/plate concentrations on S. typhimurium TA98 strain while it exhibited noantimutagenic activity on S. typhimurium TA100 strain. In vitro toxicity against L929cell line with IC50 values of zinc borate were found to be 40.70 µg/mL and 32.93 µg/mL for 24h and 72h, respectively. In spite of the low DPPH free radical scavengingactivity, zinc borate has found to have moderate total antioxidant activity besideslow antimutagenic potential. Zinc borate has a potential to use for medical purposewith its antioxidative and antimutagenic properties.