Today the impact of higher vanadium concentrations on human and animal health is becoming a big concern. Red blood system is highly sensitive to the external factors. The impact of vanadium pentaoxide on numerous functional systems of an organism remains poorly studied. The aim of our research was to study how vanadium pentaoxide influences rabbit genetic apparatus under acute and chronic exposures to the oxide.

A hundred and twenty white inbred rats of 250-300 g body weight were used in the experiments being divided into 3 groups. Group 1 (n = 50) represented control animals, Group 2 (n = 40) represented animals to which vanadium pentaoxide was injected once intergastrically in the value 12,5 mg of the salt per kg animal weight (acute poisoning), whereas to Group 3 (n = 30) animals the oxide was injected intergastrically during three months in the value 1,25 mg/kg (chronic poisoning).

A micronucleus test was carried out by the method of May-Grundweld Pappenheim’s modification. Smears obtained from periphery blood of the rats were dried in the air and placed into May-Grundweld solution in 3 minutes. The level of micronucleus in erythrocytes was calculated in pro milles. A quantity of micronucleus was calculated in 2,000 – 3,000 erythrocytes of periphery blood of the experimental animals.

The results of micronucleus tests showed that under chronic poisoning with vanadium pentaoxide the frequency of micronucleus was higher than under acute poisoning. The control group showed 2,9 micronucleus per 2,000 cells, while in Group 2 it was 3.9 ± 0.5 (P < 0.001), and in Group 3 it was 4.5 ± 0.6 (P < 0,001). The results demonstrated that the oxide has considerably mutagenic effect, particularly under chronic form of poisoning. Thus, under intoxication with vanadium pentaoxide the level of micronucleus appearing in the periphery blood of rats increased under chronic as well as acute form of intoxication, and these results confirm that the toxicant has an influence upon genetic apparatus.

Therefore, under exposure to vanadium pentaoxide the frequency of spontaneous cytogenetic disturbances was changed slightly as compared to the animals of control group, and this evidences a moderate mutagenic effect of given toxicant doses on genetic apparatus.