Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity tests of heat-processed milk samples

Samples of whole milk were heat treated by commercial heat-sterilization, by commercial heat-pasteurization or by a laboratory heat-pasteurization (65 degrees C for 30 min). Each sample was tested for mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 with and without S-9 mix. Dichloromethane extracts of milk heated at 100, 135 and 150 degrees C for 5 hr were also tested for mutagenicity using the same assay. None of these samples exhibited mutagenicity in the Ames assay used.     

Ames mutagenicity tests of products from a heated potato-starch system

A charred sample was prepared from potato starch heated with ammonium carbonate at 600°C in a flask under a nitrogen stream. The water produced was collected and extracted with methylene chloride. The basic fraction obtained from the extract exhibited strong mutagenicity in Ames assays using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 or TA100 with metabolic activation (rat-liver S-9 mix). The basic fraction was further fractionated by silica gel column chromatography and subsequently by Scphadex column chromatography. Some of the resulting fractions exhibited strong mutagenic activities in S. typhimurium strain TA98 with S-9 mix.     

In vitro antimutagenicity of curcumin against environmental mutagens

The effects of curcumin, the yellow pigment of the spice, turmeric (Curcuma longa) on the mutagenicity of several environmental mutagens were investigated in the Salmonella/microsome test with or without Aroclor 1254-induced rat-liver homogenate (S-9 mix). With Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98 in the presence of S-9 mix, curcumin inhibited the mutagenicity of bidi and cigarette smoke condensates, tobacco and masheri extracts, benzo[a]pyrne and dimethyl benzo[a]anthracene in a dose-dependent manner. Curcumin did not influence the mutagenicity without S-9 mix of sodium azide, monoacetylhydrazine and streptozocin in strain TA100 nor of 4-nitrophenylenediamine in strain TA98. Our observations indicate that curcumin may alter the metabolic activation and detoxification of mutagens.     

Ames mutagenicity tests of overheated brewed coffee

Five kinds of coffee samples were prepared from a commercial drip-grind coffee in order to examine the mutagenicity of brewed coffee using the Ames test. The samples prepared were a thick coffee syrup, coffee solid residues, dichloromethane and ethanol extracts of solid residues, a dichloromethane extract of a distillate from normally heated brewed coffee and dichloromethane extracts of distillates from overheated (150–300°C) brewed coffee. The samples were tested for mutagenicity towards Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 both with and without metabolic activation (S-9 mix). Only the extracts of the distillates obtained from coffee heated to 150° or 300°C exhibited mutagenicity towards strain TA98 with S-9 mix.     

Mutagenicity of the C-nitroso analog of fenitrothion

The chemicals fenitrothion, nitroso fenitrothion, amino fenitrothion and 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol were tested for mutagenicity to Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100, both in the presence and absence of rat liver S-9 mix. The strong mutagenicity of nitroso fenitrothion to both strains either in the presence or absence of S-9 mix contrasted with the observation that fenitrothion displayed no mutagenicity in these tester strains. The results suggest that the normal nitroreductases present in TA98 and TA100 cannot metabolize fenitrothion to a mutagenic metabolite. This inability of the tester strains to effect partial nitroreduction results in the failure of this screening system to predict the potential genotoxicity of this pesticide.     

Non-clastogenicity in mouse bone marrow of fructose/lysine and other sugar/amino acid browning products with in vitro genotoxicity

Heated sugar/amino acid reaction mixtures, known to contain products that are clastogenic and/or mutagenic to cells in vitro, were evaluated for clastogenic activity in mouse bone marrow using the erythrocyte micronucleus assay. Heated (i.e. browned) fructose/lysine reaction mixtures were also evaluated in the Salmonella his-reversion assay and the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell chromosomal aberration assay to confirm and extend previous in vitro observations. Significant mutagenicity of fructose/lysine mixtures was observed in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA100, TA2637, TA98 and TA102, with greater activity in mixtures heated at pH 10 than at pH 7. S-9 decreased the activity in strains TA100, TA2637 and TA98, but increased the activity in strain TA102. Both pH 7 and pH 10 reaction mixtures of the fructose/lysine browning reaction were highly clastogenic in CHO cells. Heated mixtures of fructose and lysine, and of glucose or ribose with lysine, histidine, tryptophan or cysteine, did not increase the frequency of micronucleated erythrocytes in mice when administered by the oral route. This indicates the absence of chromosomal aberrations in erythrocyte precursor cells, and indicates that the genotoxic components of the browned mixtures are not absorbed and distributed to bone marrow cells in amounts sufficient to induce micronuclei when given orally. Because sugar/amino acid browning reactions occur commonly in heated foods, it is important to evaluate further the in vivo genotoxicity of browning products in cell populations other than bone marrow.     

Mutagenicity and DNA-damaging activity caused by decomposed products of potassium sorbate reacting with ascorbic acid in the presence of Fe salt.

Although potassium sorbate (PS), ascorbic acid and ferric or ferrous salts (Fe-salts) are used widely in combination as food additives, the strong reactivity of PS and oxidative potency of ascorbic acid in the presence of Fe-salts might form toxic compounds in food during its deposit and distribution. In the present paper, the reaction mixture of PS, ascorbic acid and Fe-salts was evaluated for mutagenicity and DNA-damaging activity by means of the Ames test and rec-assay. Effective lethality was observed in the rec-assay. No mutagenicity was induced in either Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 (with or without S-9 mix) or TA100 (with S-9 mix). In contrast, a dose-dependent mutagenic effect was obtained when applied to strain TA100 without S-9 mix. The mutagenic activity became stronger increasing with the reaction period. Furthermore, the reaction products obtained in a nitrogen atmosphere did not show any mutagenic and DNA-damaging activity. PS, ascorbic acid and Fe-salts were inactive when they were used separately. Omission of one component from the mixture of PS, ascorbic acid and Fe-salt turned the reaction system inactive. These results demonstrate that ascorbic acid and Fe-salt oxidized PS and the oxidative products caused mutagenicity and DNA-damaging activity.     

Sources of mutagenicity in cooked Finnish foods

The mutagenic activities of the alkaline fractions derived from various heat-processed, ready-made meat, fish and poultry foods were studied using the Salmonella mutagenicity assay with strain TA98 and S-9 mix to provide information about the mutagenicity of everyday Finnish foods. The majority of the food samples tested were mutagenic. The mutagenic activities of various commercial ready-made products. Mutagenicity varied remarkably between different samples. The cooking temperature clearly affected the mutagenicities of fried or reheated food samples, mutagenicity increasing with increasing temperature. The results indicate that the main sources of cooked-food mutagens in everyday Finnish foods are grilled and broiled products and foods fried at restaurants and at home. By comparison, commercial ready-made fried foods are only a minor source of mutagenicity. Variations between equivalent food samples indicated that heat processing has a marked effect on the mutagenic activity of the product, which might therefore be reduced by modifying the cooking process.     

Screening of tabacco smoke constituents for mutagenicity using the Ames' test

To clarify the mutagenic activity of individual smoke components, 239 compounds, representative of the gaseous and semivolatile phases of tobacco smoke, were assayed for mutagenicity towards 4 histidine-requiring mutants of Salmonella typhimurium (TA 98, TA 100, TA 1535 and TA 1537). All compounds were tested qualitatively both with and without metabolic activation using a liver fraction (S-9) from Aroclor 1254 or methylcholanthrene induced rats. Without S-9, only 2,3-dimethylindole and 2,3,5-trimethylindole showed mutagenic activity that was not enhanced by hte metabolic activation system. 2,6-Diaminotoluene and coronene, which like the above compounds are not documented carcinogens were found to be mutagenic for strain TA 98 with S-9. Mutagenic activity was also observed for the previously known mutagens benz[a]pyrene, chrysene, benz[a]-anthracene, perylene and β-naphthylamine, on exposure to strains TA 98 and/or TA 100 with S-9.     

Mutagen formation in the reaction of maillard browning products, 2-acetylpyrrole and its analogues, with nitrite

Three 2-substituted pyrroles (2-acetylpyrrole, pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde and pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid), which are products of the Maillard browning reaction, were reacted with nitrite in buffer solution (pH 3) at 50°C for 24 hr. The reaction mixtures were extracted with methylene chloride and the extracts were tested for mutagenicity using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA97, TA98, TA100, TA102 and TA104, with and without S-9 metabolic activation. The methylene chloride extract of the 2-acetylpyrrole-nitrite reaction mixture showed strong mutagenicity to all the tester strains, both in the presence and absence of S-9 mix. The reaction product of pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde with nitrite only gave a weak mutagenic response with strain TA100, while the pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid-nitrite reaction product did not produce a mutagenic response in any of the tester strains. Two mutagenically active fractions, separated by thin-layer chromatography, were found in the reaction of 2-acetylpyrrole with nitrite. The formation of mutagenic products in the latter reaction was found to vary with reaction pH, time and temperature, with nitrite level and with 2-acetylpyrrole concentration.     

Effect of pyrolysis temperature on the mutagenicity of tobacco smoke condensate.

Tobacco smoke aerosols with fewer mutagens in the particulate fraction may present reduced risk to the smoker. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the temperature at which tobacco is pyrolyzed or combusted can affect the mutagenicity of the particulate fraction of the smoke aerosol. Tobacco smoke aerosol was generated under precisely controlled temperature conditions from 250 to 550 degrees C by heating compressed tobacco tablets in air. The tobacco aerosols generated had a cigarette smoke-like appearance and aroma. The tobacco smoke aerosol was passed through a Cambridge filter pad to collect the particulate fraction, termed the smoke condensate. Although condensates of tobacco smoke and whole cigarette mainstream smoke share many of the same chemical components, there are physical and chemical differences between the two complex mixtures. The condensates from smoke aerosols prepared at different temperatures were assayed in the Ames Salmonella microsome test with metabolic activation by rat liver S9 using tester strains TA98 and TA100. Tobacco smoke condensates were not detectably mutagenic in strain TA98 when the tobacco smoke aerosol was generated at temperatures below 400 degrees C. Above 400 degrees C, condensates were mutagenic in strain TA98. Similarly, condensates prepared from tobacco smoke aerosols generated at temperatures below 475 degrees C were not detectably mutagenic in strain TA100. In contrast, tobacco tablets heated to temperatures of 475 degrees C or greater generated smoke aerosol that was detectably mutagenic as measured in TA100. Therefore, heating and pyrolyzing tobacco at temperatures below those found in tobacco burning cigarettes reduces the mutagenicity of the smoke condensate. Highly mutagenic heterocyclic amines derived from the pyrolysis of tobacco leaf protein may be important contributors to the high temperature production of tobacco smoke Ames Salmonella mutagens. The relevance of these findings regarding cancer risk in humans is difficult to assess because of the lack of a direct correlation between mutagenicity in the Ames Salmonella test and carcinogenicity.     

Negative Ames tests of epoxide fatty methyl esters derived from hemolysis of linoleic acid hydroperoxides

Five isomeric epoxyhydroxyene and epoxyoxoene fatty esters derived from hemolytic decomposition of linoleic acid hydroperoxide were tested for mutagenicity by the "Ames' top-agar incorporation method using S-9 mix derived from livers of male rats pretreated with Aroclor 1254. The epoxide fatty esters tested--methyl trans-12,13-epoxy-erythro-11-hydroxy-cis(trans)-9-octadecenoate and methyl trans-12,13-epoxy-threo-11-hydroxy-cis(trans)-9-octadecenoate (each composed of approximately 80% cis-9-ene and 20% trans-9-ene), methyl trans-12,13-epoxy-9-oxo-(trans-10-octadecenoate, methyl trans-12,13-epoxy-9-hydroxy-trans-10-octadecenoate and methyl cis-12,13-epoxy-9-oxo-trans-10-octadecenoate--had structural characteristics similar to certain potent mutagens. However, these esters were not mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA100, TA98 or TA1537 at concentrations up to 2000 micrograms/test plate. Under the same test conditions, the methyl ester of hydroperoxy linoleic acid, from which these epoxides were derived, was weakly mutagenic in strain TA100 and possibly also in strain TA98.     

Mutagenicity of deep-frying fat, and evaluation of urine mutagenicity after consumption of fried potatoes

Mutagen formation during deep-frying was evaluated using standard frying conditions. Portions of pre-fried, sliced potatoes were fried in a commercial brand of hydrogenated vegetable frying fat, which was used repeatedly and for a prolonged period of time. Concentrations of polar oxidation and degradation products, and of dimeric and polymeric triglycerides, were found to increase in the frying fat as well as in fried potatoes with prolonged use of the fat. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances were detectable neither in the frying fat nor in the fried potatoes. Polar fractions of repeatedly used frying fat significantly increased the number of revertants in Salmonella typhimurium strain TA97 without S-9 mix. In the presence of S-9 mix mutagenic activity was reduced. As a consequence of ongoing formation of polar degradation and oxidation products, the mutagenicity of the fat increased after repeated use. Polar fractions of lipids extracted from commercially obtained pre-fried potatoes, as well as from fried potatoes, marginally increased the number of revertants in strain TA97 without S-9 mix. The mutagenicity of the lipid fractions of fried potatoes was not related to the heating time of the fat. Methanol extracts of fat-free residues of fried potatoes significantly increased numbers of revertants in strain TA97 after metabolic activation, which indicated that a different class of mutagens had been isolated. The mutagenicity of methanol extracts was not increased after either prolonged or repeated use of the fat. Urine samples of six healthy, non-smoking volunteers, collected during the 24 hr following consumption of portions of potatoes fried in repeatedly used fat, showed no increase in mutagenicity compared with control samples. Since the exact identity of mutagens formed during deep-frying, as well as their metabolic fate in man, is unclear at present, evaluation of possible adverse biological effects associated with consumption of fried foods will require strictly controlled metabolic studies.     

Mutagenicity of coal tar preparations used in the treatment of psoriasis

Four therapeutic coal tar preparations used in the treatment of psoriasis (Zetar^® Emulsion, Estar^®, Lavatar, and Coal Tar Solution USP) were evaluated by the Ames Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity test. All the tar products were mutagenic when plated with liver homogenate and cofactors (S9 mix) on strain TA98. There was a five-fold difference in the mutagenicities of these products when compared on the basis of his⁺ revertants per μg tar. Zetar^® Emulsion, which contains whole coal tar, was more mutagenic than the other preparations which contain selective extracts or distillates of coal tar. This suggests that some of the processed coal tars used in various psoriasis medications may be less mutagenic than crude coal tar itself.     

Mutagenicity studies on N-nitrosated products of the Maillard browning reaction: N-nitroso-fructose-amino acids

The N-nitroso derivatives of D-fructose-L-glycine, D-fructose-L-alanine, D-fructose-L-phenylalanine, D-fructose-L-serine, Dfructose-L-aspartic acid and D-fructose-L-tryptophan (a mixture of alpha-N-nitroso-D-fructose-L-tryptophan and 'indolyl-nitrosamine'-D-fructose-L-tryptophan) were tested for mutagenicity in five auxotrophic strains of Salmonella typhimurium with and without metabolic activation (S-9 mix). The alanine, phenylalanine and aspartic acid compounds were not mutagenic. The glycine and serine compounds showed a very low but reproducible increase in the numbers of his+ revertants in strain TA1535 without S-9 mix. The mixture containing both nitrosated D-fructose-L-tryptophan compounds was mutagenic in all five strains, with or without metabolic activation. The alpha-N-nitroso-D-fructose-L-tryptophan component of the mixture, which is nitrosated at the amino group, was isolated and tested without S-9 mix. It was mutagenic in three strains. Unnitrosated D-fructose-L-amino acids, D-fructose, and the individual L-amino acids were non-mutagenic when tested under those conditions for which a positive response had been obtained with the corresponding nitrosated compounds. These results indicate the potential value of developing analytical methods to identify alpha-N-nitroso-D-fructose-L-tryptophan in food or food extracts that are to be screened for mutagenic components.     

Characterization of water-soluble glucuronide and sulphate conjugates of aflatoxin B1. 2. Studies in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes

Aflatoxin B1 and some of its metabolites were released from water-soluble aflatoxin conjugates isolated from rat primary hepatocyte cultures and hydrolysed by enzymes (beta-glucuronidase and sulphatase), by acid or by a combination of both treatments. The presence of AFB1 in the hydrolysates was detected on TLC plates, or indicated indirectly by the Ames mutagenicity assay. The aflatoxin conjugates were not mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98 in the presence of rat-liver S-9 mix. However, following enzymatic hydrolysis, the chloroform extract of the hydrolysate was highly mutagenic to the bacteria, indicating the presence of mutagenic AFB1. The conjugates AFB1-glucuronide and AFB1-sulphate are therefore produced from AFB1 in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes.     

Mutagenicity study of nine monoalkyl phthalates and a dialkyl phthalate using Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli

Nine monoalkyl (C1-C8) phthalates and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were assayed for mutagenicity in two strains of Salmonella typhimurium (TA98 and TA100) and two strains of Escherichia coli WP2 try- (uvrA+ and uvrA-) with and without metabolic activation with S-9 mix. The procedure of Ames et al. (Mutation Res. 1975, 31, 347) was used, with minor modifications. None of the compounds tested showed any mutagenic activity, but all the monoalkyl phthalates showed some lethality towards the S. typhimurium strains, the most toxic being monoheptyl phthalate. A marginally lethal effect on the Salmonella strains was shown by DEHP, but only at the highest concentration tested (2000 micrograms/plate) and in the absence of S-9 mix.     

Mutagenicity tests of cashewnut shell liquid, rice-bran oil and other vegetable oils using the Salmonella typhimurium/microsome system

In view of the shortage of edible oils in India, nutritional and toxicological evaluations have been carried out on some unconventional oils to determine whether they might be safe for human consumption. As part of these evaluations, eight unconventional oils were tested by the Ames mutagenicity assay, using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 with and without metabolic activation with S-9 mix prepared from the livers of rats pretreated with sodium phenobarbitone or Aroclor 1254. Of the oils tested, metsa oil (Hibiscus sabdariffa) and cashewnut shell liquid were mutagenic with and without metabolic activation with S-9 of either source. No mutagenic activity (with or without S-9 of either source) was observed with any of the other oils tested (rice-bran oil, Cleome viscosa oil, mango-kernel oil, mahua oil, kapok oil and neem oil).     

Detection of genotoxicity in fried bacon by the Salmonella/mammalian microsome mutagenicity assay

The potential for mutagen formation in fried bacon and the possible reduction or elimination of this hazard was examined in the Salmonella/mammalian microsome mutagenicity assay using Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98. Alkaline dichloromethane extracts were prepared from green pork bellies, commercial bacon (nitrite-treated and nitrite-free), and pilot-plant bacon (nitrite-free). When fried, all forms of bacon and the green belly samples gave positive mutagenic responses with the plate-incorporation technique. Unfried samples were not mutagenic. Aroclor-activated rat-liver S-9 fractions plus NADPH were essential to demonstrate a mutagenic response. When the frying temperature was held constant (171°C) maximum mutagen formation was observed in samples fried for 6 min; when samples were fried for 6 min a mutagenic response which increased with temperature, in a linear manner, was observed at temperatures above 125°C. Volatile nitrosamines were not detected in the bacon samples. The data indicate the generation of one or more mutagens in fried bacon and green pork belly, the levels of which can be reduced by decreasing heating temperature and/or time.     

N,N-diethylphenylacetamide, an insect repellent: absence of mutagenic response in the in vitro Ames test and in vivo mouse micronucleus test

N,N-diethylphenylacetamide (DEPA), a promising new insect repellent, was tested for mutagenicity in the in vitro Ames Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity test and the in vivo mouse micronucleus test. For the Ames test, DEPA was assayed both in the presence and absence of Aroclor 1254-induced rat-liver S-9 mix (5 and 20% S-9 fraction), using five tester strains of Salmonella typhimurium--TA97a, TA98, TA100, TA102 and TA104. For the micronucleus test, mice were exposed to DEPA through ip injection for 2 and 5 days in separate experiments, and bone marrow and peripheral blood were sampled 6 and 48 hr after the final injection, respectively. DEPA did not induce a mutagenic response in the Ames test, and mouse bone marrow and peripheral blood micronucleus tests. DEPA was not considered cytotoxic, as a depression of the percentage PCE was not observed at any dose in the range of 1 to 100 mg/kg body weight with either treatment protocol of the micronucleus test.