Genotoxicidad de Justicia pectoralis Jacq. (tilo)

objective: to detemine the genotoxic effect of the hydroalcoholic extract 30 % of aerial parts of justicia pectoralis jacq. (variety pectoralis) dried by spray drier. methods: the salmonella/microsomes with lines ta 1535, ta 1537, ta 98 and ta 100 with a concentration range from 50 to 5 000 ìg of powder/plaque (± s9) was used according to the protocol of incorporation in plaques; for the bone marrow micronucleus assay there were used cenp mice: nmri of both sexes that received isovolumetric doses (10 ml/kg) of 500, 1 000 y 2 000 mg of powder/kg by intragastric route at intervals of 24 h and were sacrificed 24 h after the last application. results: no genotoxic effect was found with any of the strains in the assay of salmonella/microsomes. the extract did not cause a statistically significant increase in the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes in the mice treated. no dose/positive response relation was observed. conclusions: the powder did not reveal genotoxic effect under the experimental conditions of this study.