N@-[ (+)-y-Glutamyl]-4-(hydroxymethyl)phenylhydrazine (agaritine), a component of the common cultivated commercial mushroom Agaricus bisporus, is hydrolyzed to the 4-(hydroxymethyl) benzenediazonium ion, a carcinogen in mice, by an enzyme system present in the mushroom. This system, together with others, may be responsible for a 0.6-ppm level of the 4-(hydroxymethy1)benzenediazonium ion in the mushroom. A second diazonium ion is generated in acid extracts of A. bisporus from a precursor of unknown structure in the mushroom.
4-(Hydroxymethyl-benzenediazonium tetrafluoroborate was administered as a single intragastric instillation at 400 micrograms/g to Swiss albino mice. The treatment gave rise to glandular stomach tumours in incidences of 30% in females and 32% in males. Histopathologically, the tumours were classified as polypoid adenomas and adenocarcinomas. This diazonium ion is an ingredient of the cultivated mushroom of commerce, Agaricus bisporus. The implications are self-evident.
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