Extracts of Rhododendron species and honey obtained from such species, which are used in folk medicines in Japan and Turkey, contain grayanotoxins. The effects of one of these toxins, grayanotoxin II, on the mitotic activity of cultured human lymphocytes were investigated. The mitotic index of the lymphocytes was increased by concentrations of 10−4 and 10−3 M grayanotoxin II, significantly so in the case of the higher concentration; the increase appeared to be proportional to the concentration of the toxin.
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