The Mutatox® test (commercial name for the bioluminescent bacterial genotoxicity test) has been shown to be a good alternative to the Ames test. The test uses dark mutants of luminous bacteria (Vibrio fischeri) and determines the ability of various genotoxic agents to restore the luminescence by inducing mutation. It provides a rapid screening test which can be used to assay the genotoxicity of large numbers of pure and complex compounds. The test is completed in 1 day, and by serially diluting the compound, dose response data plus toxicity data can be generated for a number of samples simultaneously. For the direct assay (without exogenous metabolic activation), the positive controls selected were 3,6-diaminoacridine (proflavine) and N-methyl-N-nitro-nitrosoguanidine. For the S-9 assay, which incorporated the microsome fraction (S-9) from rat liver as an exogenous metabolic activation system, the positive controls selected were aflatoxin B1 and benzo(a)pyrene. This study also indicated that methyl-imidazo-quinoline and tryptophan pyrolysates were genotoxic in the presence of S-9 activation, aflatoxin B1 epoxide and fumonisin B1 showed direct genotoxic activity, and aflatoxin B2 and ochratoxin A were not genotoxic.
The Mutatox test (the commercial name for a bioluminescent bacterial genotoxicity test), which
has been proved to be a good alternative to the Ames test, was used in this study to test the
genotoxicity of fatty acid derivatives and heated oils. This test allows either pure or complex
compounds to be rapidly screened for genotoxicity. Five different column fractions isolated from
autoxidized methyl linoleate or autoxidized methyl linolenate were not genotoxic with or without
the activation by the S-9 (microsomal) fraction. Chlorinated fatty acids including chloroethyl caprate,
laurate, palmitate, and linoleate were genotoxic in the presence of S-9 activation. When heated at
180 °C, after 32 h, soybean oil exhibited genotoxic activity with or without the S-9 activation. The
addition of 1% cholesterol into the soybean oil increased the onset of the genotoxicity during heating.
Keywords: Mutatox test; genotoxicity test; fatty acid hydroperoxides; chlorinated fatty acids
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