Frameshift mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium of furocoumarins in the dark.

The dark mutagenicity of 4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen (4,5',8-TMP), 5-methoxypsoralen (5-MOP), 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP), 3-carbethoxypsoralen (3-CPs) and two new pyridopsoralens (PyPs and MePyPs) was tested using the Ames Salmonella plating assay in the absence of metabolic activation. 4,5',8-TMP, 8-MOP and the two pyridopsoralens were found to be weak frameshift mutagens in strain TA1537 whereas 5-MOP and 3-CPs did not demonstrate any significant mutagenic activity. These findings support the notion that the genetic risks of these psoralens in the dark may be considered to be negligible.