Re-evaluation of the effect of ellagic acid on dimethylnitrosamine mutagenicity.

ABSTRACT

Dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) is activated to mutagenic species in the Ames test (Salmonella typhimurium strain TA100) by hamster hepatic S9 preparation. This S9 activity is induced by administration of ethanol to the animals. The organic solvents dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (MP) inhibit this mutagenicity, apparently because they inhibit DMN demethylase activity (assayed as formaldehyde production). Ellagic acid, dissolved in DMSO or MP, had no inhibitory effect on DMN mutagenicity, beyond the effect of the solvent vehicle.