Melamine, which is used to produce melamine resin for various industrial applications, has a high nitrogen content by mass. For this reason, it has been illegally added to foods to increase their apparent protein content. In the present investigation, melamine-induced oxidative damage of human lymphocyte DNA was evaluated by Comet assay. The in vitro oxidative DNA damage caused by melamine increased in a dose-dependent manner. This DNA damage was significantly inhibited by treatment with ascorbate. Moreover, the traditional Korean medicinal herb, named Acanthopanax, red ginseng and green tea markedly reduced the DNA damage. Various edible plant extracts also inhibited melamine-induced oxidative DNA damage in vitro. Melamine enhanced intracellular ROS generation, and this effect was suppressed by treatment with various antioxidants.