Comparative Toxigenicity and Associated Mutagenicity of Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus Group Isolates Collected from the Agricultural Environment

The mutagenic patterns of A. flavus, A. parasiticus and A. fumigatus extracts were evaluated. These strains of toxigenic Aspergillus were collected from the agricultural environment. The Ames test was performed on Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA100 and TA102, without and with S9mix (exogenous metabolic activation system). These data were compared with the mutagenicity of the corresponding pure mycotoxins tested alone or in reconstituted mixtures with equivalent concentrations, in order to investigate the potential interactions between these molecules and/or other natural metabolites. At least 3 mechanisms are involved in the mutagenic response of these aflatoxins: firstly, the formation of AFB1-8,9-epoxide upon addition of S9mix, secondly the likely formation of oxidative damage as indicated by significant responses in TA102, and thirdly, a direct mutagenicity observed for higher doses of some extracts or associated mycotoxins, which does not therefore involve exogenously activated intermediates. Besides the identified mycotoxins (AFB1, AFB2 and AFM1), additional “natural” compounds contribute to the global mutagenicity of the extracts. On the other hand, AFB2 and AFM1 modulate negatively the mutagenicity of AFB1 when mixed in binary or tertiary mixtures. Thus, the evaluation of the mutagenicity of “natural” mixtures is an integrated parameter that better reflects the potential impact of exposure to toxigenic Aspergilli.

Absence of mutagenic activity in the bacterial reverse mutation assay with pulegone and peppermint oil

The essential oil of peppermint and one of its natural constituents, (R)-(+)-pulegone, are approved flavorings added to food worldwide. (R)-(+)-Pulegone and peppermint oil were tested separately in two independent bacterial reverse mutation assays according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guideline 471. Both flavorings did not produce any evidence of mutagenicity up to cytotoxic concentrations in either the presence or the absence of exogenous metabolic activation.

2-Dodecylcyclobutanone Does Not Induce Mutations in the Salmonella Mutagenicity Test or Intrachromosomal Recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae†

Treatment of foods, such as red meat and poultry, that contain palmitic acid with ionizing radiation leads to the formation of 2-dodecylcyclobutanone (2-DCB), a compound found only in irradiated foods. In this study, the Salmonella mutagenicity test and the yeast DEL assay were used to evaluate the genotoxic potential of 2-DCB. Salmonella Typhimurium tester strains TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537 were exposed to 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg per well of 2-DCB, with and without exogenous metabolic activation (5% S9 fraction), using the microtiter plate–based Miniscreen version of the test. 2-DCB did not induce mutations in the Salmonella mutagenicity test. When Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain RS112, which contains a nonfunctional duplication of the his3 gene that can be induced to form a functional HIS3+ gene by intrachromosomal recombination, was exposed to 0.63, 1.25, 2.5, or 5.0 mg/ml of 2-DCB, no increase in the rate of intrachromosomal (DEL) recombination was observed. The absence of genotoxicity observed in this study using purified 2-DCB agrees with the lack of genotoxic and teratogenic activity observed in previously conducted multigeneration feeding studies of laboratory animals (rats, mice, guinea pigs, and rabbits) that used radiation-sterilized poultry that contained 2-DCB as a unique radiolytic product.