The effect of saponin extracted from Panax grneng CA Meyer on DNA repair and replicative DNA synthesis were examined in CHO-Kl cells cotreated with benzo(a)pyrene and rat liver S-15 fraction. The DNA strand breaks inititated by benzo(a)pyrene metabolites were measured by alkaline election technique. The addition of ginseng saponin to the culture media resulted in decrease of benzo(a)pyrene-induced DNA strand breaks, and restored the suppressed-semiconservative-DNA-synthesis by the carcinogen. DNA repair synthesis in the damaged cells was also elevated by the ginseng treatment when the repairing activites were measured for the (3H)-thymidine incorporation into the carcinogen damaged cellular DNk Comparative analysis of DNA-adduces of benzo(a)pyrene metabortes in microsomes suggested that ginseng saponin treatment in rats reduced the formation of electrophilic metabolites of benzo (a)-pyrene in the rat liver microsomes.