Micronucleus Test for the Classification of Chemical Mutagenicity according to Globally Harmonized System

To classify the chemical hazard according to globally harmonized system of classification and labeling of chemicals (GHS), we investigated the genotoxicity of three chemicals, methyl myristate, 2-ethylhexanoic acid zinc salt, N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl) ethylenediamine, using male ICR mice bone marrow cells for the screening of micronucleus induction. Although these three chemicals have already been tested numerous times, a micronucleus test has not been conducted. The seven week-old male ICR mice were tested at three dosages for the three chemicals, respectively. After 24 h of oral administration with the three chemicals, the mice were sacrificed and their bone marrow cells were prepared for smearing slides. As a result of counting the micronucleated polychromatic erythrocyte (MNPCE) of 2,000 polychromatic erythrocytes, all treated groups expressed no statistically significant increase of MNPCE compared to the negative control group. There were no clinical signs related with the oral exposure of these three chemicals. It was concluded that these three chemicals did not induce micronucleus in the bone marrow cells of ICR mice, and there was no direct proportion with dosage. These results indicate that the three chemicals have no mutagenic potential under each test condition, and it is not classified these chemicals as mutagens by GHS.