Identification of mutagenic heterocyclic amines (IQ, Trp-P-1 and AalphaC) in the water of the Danube river.

Three mutagenic heterocyclic amines, 2-amino-3-methylimidazo-[4, 5-f]quinoline (IQ), 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1) and 2-amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AalphaC), were isolated and identified in water from the Danube River in Vienna. Heterocyclic amines were extracted from river water by the blue rayon hanging method, and analyzed by gas chromatography with a nitrogen-phosphorous detector (GC-NPD) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after conversion into their N-dimethylaminomethylene derivatives. Identity of IQ, Trp-P-1 and AalphaC in the river water was confirmed by GC-MS. The contents of IQ, Trp-P-1 and AalphaC were estimated by GC-NPD at 1.78+/-0.17, 0.14+/-0.02 and 0.44+/-0.02 ng/g blue rayon equivalent (n=3), respectively. The total amounts of these amines accounted for 26% of the mutagenicity of blue rayon extracts evaluated by the Ames test using TA98 with metabolic activation.

Protection against the bacterial mutagenicity of heterocyclic amines by purpurin, a natural anthraquinone pigment.

Purpurin (1,2,4-trihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone) is a naturally occurring anthraquinone pigment found in species of madder root. We have found that the presence of purpurin in bacterial mutagenicity assays is responsible for a marked inhibition of mutagenicity induced by food-derived heterocyclic amines. Purpurin was found to be a better inhibitor of Trp-P-2-dependent mutagenicity than either epigallocatechin gallate or chlorophyllin both of which are well-established anti-mutagenic components of diet. Inhibition of Trp-P-2(NHOH) mutagenicity by purpurin was dependent upon pH. It was a better inhibitor in neutral than acidic conditions. Purpurin was protective against the direct mutagen Trp-P-2(NHOH) in both the presence and the absence of hepatic S9 but required pre-incubation. Finally, purpurin was responsible for the inhibition of human CYP1A2 and human NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase and a decrease in the bioactivation of Trp-P-2 by these enzymes when they were expressed in Salmonella typhimurium TA1538ARO. However, inhibition of Trp-P-2(NHOH)-dependent mutations suggests purpurin also has a direct effect on this mutagen in addition to inhibiting its formation by CYP1A2.

Inhibition of N-nitrosation of secondary amines in vitro by tea extracts and catechins.

Inhibition of nitrite-mediated N-nitrosation of dimethylamine, morpholine and N-methylaniline by tea extracts and by 6 individual catechins in the extracts was studied. The inhibitions were detected by quantifying the nitrosamines formed. Eight different kinds of teas (5 green teas, a roasted green tea, an oolong tea, and a black tea) were examined for their inhibitory abilities and for their catechin contents, with an attempt to correlate the inhibitory activities to the catechin contents. The results showed that (1) the green tea extracts inhibit strongly the N-nitrosation of the three secondary amines tested, (2) the 6 catechins, notably epigallocatechin, are capable of blocking the N-nitrosations very efficiently, even more efficiently than ascorbic acid, and (3) the inhibition activities of green tea extracts are mostly ascribable to the catechins present in the extracts. These inhibitions occur by rapid reactions between nitrite and the catechins. It was observed that no mutagenicity results from the reaction between the tea extracts and nitrite.

Evaluation of blue-chitin column, blue-rayon hanging, and XAD-resin column techniques for concentrating mutagens from two Japanese rivers.

Highly mutagenic water of the Katsura River, Kyoto, and moderately mutagenic water of the Asahi River, Okayama, were used to evaluate the efficacy of three concentration techniques, the blue-chitin column, the blue-rayon hanging, and the XAD-2 column. These two river waters have been shown to exhibit high mutagenicity in the assay with Salmonella typhimurium TA98 with metabolic activation. With this assay as a measure, two water samples from the Katsura, collected on different dates, and a sample from the Asahi were submitted to the column concentration techniques, blue-chitin and XAD-2. Blue-chitin was more efficient than XAD-2 for all of these samples: e.g., for one Katsura sample, the mutagenicity found was 913 +/- 53 (mean +/- SD, n = 3) revertants/500 ml with blue-chitin, and 419 +/- 129 (n = 3)/500 ml with XAD-2. Blue rayon (0.5 g) hung in the Asahi for 24 h gave 563 +/- 74 (n = 3) revertants, while the water spot-sampled at the start of the hanging showed 253 +/- 10 (n = 3) revertants per 5 liter with the blue-chitin column technique. We conclude that for quantitative measurement of the "Salmonella TA98 +/- S9' mutagens in these rivers, the blue-chitin column is more efficient and accurate than the XAD-2 column and that for judging the presence of mutagens, the blue-rayon hanging is the most sensitive and convenient among the three methods examined.

A short-column technique for concentrating mutagens/carcinogens having polycyclic structures.

Copper phthalocyanine trisulfonate (cpt) is known to form complexes with polycyclic planar compounds and for that reason has been used in a rayon fiber supported form as a ligand to selectively trap polycyclics, e.g., mutagenic/carcinogenic heterocyclic amines and polycyclic hydrocarbons. With the rayon-supported ept, batch-wise treatment is employed in the adsorption of polycyclic mutagens from samples such as an aqueous extract of food, river water, and human urine. We have now found that chitin (poly-N-acetylglucosamine) powder bearing covalently linked cpt residues is suitable for preparing a short packed column through which a sample solution may be passed. The derivatization of chitin to fix the ept ligand on the hydroxyl groups with the use of Reactive Blue 21 proceeded more rapidly than that of the cellulose supports, and the resulting cpt-chitin showed a ept content of 44 mol/g, a content twofold greater than that of cpt-rayon and fourfold greater than that of cpt cellulose prepared under equivalent conditions. A sample of ept-chitin (0.12 g) was placed in a Sep-Pak cartridge case, and the column was tested for its utility. Compounds, mostly mutagens, having structures of three or more fused rings (aflatoxin B1, IQ, PhIP, and six others tested) were efficiently adsorbed (>85%) to the column when their 104106 M buffered solutions (5 ml, pH 7) were passed through it (flow rate, 510 mI/mm). Compounds with fewer than three rings (eight compounds tested) flowed through the column with little or no adsorptions. The adsorbed compounds can be eluted with a mixture of methanol and concentrated ammonia. This technique was successfully applied for concentrating mutagenic components from Beef Extract and river water. The method is superior to the previous methods in terms of selectivity and high recovery for polycyclics. Simplicity and a less time-consuming nature of manipulation are advantageous.

Porphyrins as potential inhibitors against exposure to carcinogens and mutagens.

Studies have shown that there are many substances that can interfere with the actions of carcinogens and mutagens. Porphyrins, which often are constituents of diet, are a class of such inhibitors. Hemin can inhibit selectively the activity of mutagens having polycyclic structures by forming complexes with them. These effects were found with the use of bacterial assays and also by in vitro chemical experiments. A survey of porphyrins for similar effects has been done in our laboratory and it was found that chlorophyll and chlorophyllin act like hemin. These green pigments are antimutagenic in Salmonella and in Drosophila. Work from other laboratories also has supported the antimutagenic character of chlorophyllin. The possibility of modifying human exposure to carcinogens by use of these porphyrins is discussed. A porphyrin-like molecule, copper phthalocyanine trisulfonate, has been shown to have strong affinity to polycyclic compounds. Blue cotton, a cotton preparation bearing this blue pigment as a covalently bound ligand, has been demonstrated to be an adsorbent useful for isolating heterocyclic amines from food and other materials.

Suppressing effect of Lactobacillus casei administration on the urinary mutagenicity arising from ingestion of fried ground beef in the human.

It is known that the ingestion of cooked meat which contains carcinogenic heterocyclic amines causes increase in urinary mutagenicity in humans. Using 6 healthy non-smokers, we examined the effect of 3-week oral administration of Lactobacillus casei (bacilli commonly present in yoghurt), on the urinary mutagenicity derived from ingestion of fried ground beef. Comparison of the urinary mutagenicity found before and after the L. casei treatment showed that the treatment resulted in a decrease (6-67%, average 47.5%) of the mutagenicity. This suppressing effect is possibly related to the changes in the intestinal microflora population.

Mutagenicity arising from boiled rice on treatment with nitrous acid.

When an aqueous homogenate of boiled rice was treated with nitrous acid at pH 3, direct-acting mutagens were formed. The presence of the mutagens was demonstrated by isolating the mutagenic fractions through blue-rayon adsorption, a method used to extract polycyclic compounds, and subsequent high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The mutagens were active in Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and TA98 without metabolic activation. Several different mutagens were formed, as judged from the HPLC profile.

Problems in monitoring mutagenicity of human urine.

Blue-cotton (-rayon) adsorbable fractions of human urines were examined for mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 with metabolic activation. Ingestion of cooked beef caused significant increases in urinary mutagenicity that were comparable to that caused by cigarette smoking. When a sample obtained after ingestion of cooked beef was passed through a carboxymethyl cellulose column, the mutagenicity of the eluate was found to be almost one order of magnitude greater than that of the original sample, suggesting the presence of antimutagenic factors in the sample. The oleic acid content of the sample was not great enough to account for this phenomenon. Other urine samples subjected to column fractionation were found to contain the putative antimutagenic factors. This finding further confounds the monitoring of urinary mutagenicity.

Mutagenic metabolites in urine and feces of rats fed with 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline, a carcinogenic mutagen present in cooked meat.

To study the in vivo fate of 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx), a carcinogenic mutagen present in cooked meat, rats were fed MeIQx in the diet and their urine and feces were analyzed for the metabolites. The isolation procedure included specific adsorption of MeIQx derivatives to blue cotton and subsequent fractionations by thin layer chromatography on silica gel and by high pressure liquid chromatography. Attention was focused on mutagenically active metabolites. Three metabolites were isolated from the urine, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, ultraviolet, and mass spectra. The first metabolite characterized was 2-amino-8-hydroxymethyl-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (Compound I), the second was 2-acetylamino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (Compound II), and the third was 2-amino-8-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (Compound III). Compound I was isolated also from the feces. Compounds I-III were mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium TA98 with metabolic activation. The mutagenic potency of Compounds I and II was as high as that of MeIQx, and that of Compound III was much lower than that of MeIQx.

Use of blue cotton for detection of mutagenicity in human feces excreted after ingestion of cooked meat.

Fried ground beef has been shown to contain mutagens, and the major mutagenic component has been identified as 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx). Mutagens in feces of three adult volunteers were fractionated by treatment of the feces with blue cotton followed by chromatography on a carboxymethyl cellulose column. The chromatographic fraction corresponding to MeIQx in terms of the position of elution was examined for mutagenicity in S. typhimurium TA 98 with metabolic activation. When meals containing no heated meat were eaten, this fraction of feces showed little or no mutagenicity. On eating fried ground beef, the feces excreted in the next 2 days showed greatly increased mutagenicity in this fraction. By eating no-meat meals subsequent to the meat meal, the mutagenicity resumed the original low level on the fourth day after the meat meal. The components in the mutagenic fraction were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography, and were shown to differ from MeIQx.

Fecal mutagenicity arising from ingestion of fried ground beef in the human.

Fried ground beef has been shown to contain mutagens, and the major mutagenic component has been identified as 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx). Mutagens in feces of 3 adult volunteers were fractionated by treatment of the feces with blue cotton followed by chromatography on a carboxymethyl cellulose column. The chromatographic fraction, corresponding to MeIQx in terms of the position of elution, was examined for mutagenicity in S. typhimurium TA98 with metabolic activation. When meals containing no heated meat were eaten, this fraction of feces showed little or no mutagenicity. On eating fried ground beef, the feces excreted in the next two days showed greatly increased mutagenicity in this fraction. By eating no-meat meal subsequent to the meat meal, the mutagenicity resumed the original low level on the fourth day after the meat meal. The components in the mutagenic fraction were probably metabolites of the mutagens present in cooked meat, since analysis by high pressure liquid chromatography of the mutagenic fraction showed that the active components in the feces were different from the mutagens in cooked meat.

Mutagenicity of human urine caused by ingestion of fried ground beef.

On ingestion of fried ground beef by humans, the urinary mutagenicity, as examined by the Ames test, increased rapidly and then decreased during a period of 12 hr to resume the original low level. The excreted mutagens were shown to differ from 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline, the major mutagen in the cooked beef.

Mutagenicity of chalks. A case in which the test results led to the improvement of the quality of commercial goods.

Mutagenicity testing, of methanolic extracts of chalks, by the Salmonella/mammalian-microsome system revealed that the blue and the green chalks contained mutagens. A positive mutagenic response was observed on Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98, both in the presence and absence of the microsome system (S9). The source of the mutagenicity was traced to the blue pigment used for manufacturing these chalks. The pigment, copper phthalocyanine, a product of a Japanese chemical industrial company, was found to contain impurities that were mutagenic. The mutagenic principle giving positive response in the TA98 in the presence of S9 was purified 10(5)-fold from the original pigment. Although its structure is yet to be elucidated, this indirect frame-shift mutagen had a strong activity: 5700 His+ revertants per microgram. This information, delivered in the beginning of 1981, prompted the manufacturer to start supplying a mutagen-free product. As a result, the blue chalks on the market became no longer mutagenic in the summer of 1982.

Characterization of mutagenic fractions in beef extract and in cooked ground beef. Use of blue-cotton for efficient extraction.

Mutagenic components in commercial beef extract and in cooked ground beef were adsorbed from their aqueous solutions on cotton bearing covalently linked trisulfo-copper-phthalocyanine residues (blue-cotton). By repeating the adsorption and elution, efficient concentration of the mutagenic components with a satisfactory overall recovery was achieved. Carboxymethyl cellulose column chromatography was found to be an excellent means to separate 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo-[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx) from 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ), two strong mutagens that have previously been found in heated beef samples. Chromatography of the mutagenic components of beef extract on this column gave two mutagenic fractions which corresponded to MeIQx and IQ in elution profile. In reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography, the major active component of the MeIQx fraction and that of the IQ fraction behaved identically with standard samples of MeIQx and IQ, respectively. The contents of these mutagens in a sample of Difco beef extract were estimated at 200-300 ng of MeIQx and 20-40 ng of IQ per gram. By the same fractionation procedures, mutagenic substances in the cooked beef were fractionated into MeIQx-type and IQ-type components. The activity distribution among these two fractions was similar to that found for beef extract.

Adsorption of mutagens to cotton bearing covalently bound trisulfo-copper-phthalocyanine.

A method for separating nonpolar mutagens from their dilute aqueous solutions is described. It utilizes the affinity of the mutagens to a phthalocyanine derivative attached to cotton through a covalent bond. For mutagens having 3 or more fused aromatic rings in their structures, efficient adsorption took place on soaking the cotton in their solutions. The mutagens adsorbed can be recovered by elution with ammoniacal methanol. Mutagenicity in smoker's urine, cooked beef, and river water was detected by use of this method.

Inhibition of the mutagenicity of cooked-beef basic fraction by its acidic fraction.

By using the Salmonella/microsome system, it was found that the activity of mutagens present in the basic fraction of cooked-ground-beef was completely suppressed by addition of the acidic fraction obtained from the cooked-beef. The suppression was ascribable to the presence of oleic acid in the acidic fraction. This finding indicates that no, or diminished, mutagenicity would be found in materials containing fat.