The ectoparasite Varroa destructor is one of the most wide-spread parasites of the honey bee, which is increasing its resistence to traditional synthetic acaricides more and more with each year. New regulations on quality of the European Union ban the presence of residue in bee products, which rules out the use of chemical means in the course of the honey harvest. The concept of ecologic control of Varroa destructor in honey bee colonies implies the complementary use of adequate biotechnical and biophysical measures and treatments using preparations based on etheric oils and organic acids. The combination of these treatments according to the presented strategy makes it possible to keep varroasis under control

The genotoxic effect of amitraz (3.6 mg/kg b.m, 1.8 mg/kg b.m, 0.9 mg/kg b.m) on bone marrow cells of HAN strain mice was examined in vivo by following the frequency of numeric and structural chromosomal aberrations, while the cytostatic effect of the same preparation was followed through the mitotic index. The first experimental dose (3.6 mg/kg b.m) caused a statistically significant (p<0.01) increase in the mitotic index, while the second (1.8 mg/kg b.m) and the third (0.9 mg/kg b.m.) experimental dose statistically significantly (p<0.01) decreased the value of the mitotic index in animals of both sexes. All the applied doses exhibited an ability to induce numeric (aneuploidy and polyploidy) and structural (Robertsonian translocation) chromosomal aberrations. It can be concluded on the basis of the obtained results that the examined substance exhibits a genotoxic dose-dependant effect.

Fumagillin is a naturally secreted antibiotic of the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. In veterinary medicine fumagillin is used against nosemosis in bees and microsporidiosis in fish. Since fumagillin is stable in honey in a honey bee hive there is a possible genotoxic risk to beekeepers and consumers of honey contaminated with this substance. The genotoxic effect of fumagillin was evaluated in sisterchromatid exchange (SCE) and chromosome aberration tests in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes at three concentrations (1.02, 3.07 and 9.20 _g/mL), with 1:1 water-sugar syrup as the negative control and N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) as the positive control. The mitotic and proliferative indices were calculated to detect the cytostatic effect of fumagillin. The results revealed that all tested concentrations of fumagillin (1.02, 3.07 and 9.20 _g/mL) significantly (p<0.001) increased the SCE frequency per cell and decreased the proliferative activity of human cultured lymphocytes which was manifested in the decrease in mitotic and proliferative indices. Significant increase (p<0.001) in aneuploidy and polyploidy was induced by medium and maximum concentrations of fumagillin. Besides, maximum concentrations of fumagillin significantly (p<0.001) increased the frequency of monitored structural aberrations of gap, break and insertion type. The results of this study demonstrate the genotoxic potential of fumagillin in vitro

Fumagillin (dicyclohexylamine) is a natural antibiotic, secreted by Aspergillus fumigatus. It is used in veterinary medicine against microsporidiosis in bees and fish, as well as in human medicine for the treatment of intestinal amebiasis, microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis and intestinal microsporidiosis due to Enterocytozoon bieneusi in patients with AIDS and other types of immunodeficiency. In this study, the genotoxicity of fumagillin was evaluated in mouse bone marrow cells using the mitotic index (MI) and micronucleus (MN) assay. Fumagillin was administered to BALB/c mice by gavage in doses of 25, 50, 75 mg/kg b.w., repeated for 7 days at 24h intervals, with water-sugar syrup as the negative control and cyclophosphamide as the positive control (40 mg/kg b.w) All experimental doses of fumagillin induced a significant decrease (p<0.001) in MI (3.47 ± 0.04%, 3.17 ± 0.01% and 2.27 ± 0.02%, respectively) in comparison with the negative control (6.00 ± 0.01%) and with the positive control (14.78 ± 0.09). Fumagillin significantly (p<0.001) increased the frequency of MN (4.98 ± 0.35, 8.45 ± 0.57 and 12.02 ± 0.37, respectively) over the negative control (1.04 ± 0.28). These results suggest that fumagillin (dicyclohexilamine) has an antiproliferative and genotoxic potential in mammal in vivo test