Camel urine is used by Beduines in the treatment of many diseases. since it
contains chemical compounds affect the physiology of human body. Therefore, the
effects of camel urine on the process of mitosis and chromosomal behaviour in normal
cells (the root meristem cells of A. cepe) were studied in direct and recovery
experiments. Also. an attempt was made to find out a relationship between the mitotic
activity and the DNA content. The results clearly indicated genotoxic activity of camel
urine however no clastogenic effect was observed. The observed mitodepressive
effect depends on the concentration and exposure time of direct treatment and it may
be due to the presence of camel urine cytotoxic constituents such as purine bases.
hypoxanthine and creatinine. The non-clastogenic nature probably was attributed to
the antioxidant and the antimutagenic compounds (uric acid and creatinine) present in
camel urine. The mitostalic action may be due to an accumulation of clumping
stickimetaphase cells. Thus. chromosomes lose the ability to undergo anaphase and
telophase stages and are completely arrested at metaphase in cells treated with high
doses for long exposure time. Beside stickiness, other physiological aberrations were
observed which probably attributed to abnormal spindle formation. On the other hand.
the mitostatic feature may be due to the reduction in the number of cells entering
mitosis and the depression of DNA synthesis at S phase. During recovery periods, the
process of mitosis and DNA concentration were recuperate in meristem cells treated
with 10% of camel urine. On the contrary. the attempt to revive the meristem cells was
not effective for the sublethal dose (20%). It revealed complete genotoxic effect and
continuous decrease of DNA content at all recovery times. Further studies are in
progress to explain the genotoxic activety of camel urine and its active compounds on
the cell cycle phases and gene expression.