Assessment of Potential Mutagenic Effect of Colorant of Some Commercial Fruit Drinks in Mice

Abstract

Due to the large consumption of commercial fruit drinks worldwide in recent years and considering that some of the components present in their composition cause potential risks to human health, therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the potential mutagenic effect of colorants of commercial fruit drinks (pear, cherry, strawberries and red grape) stored at 4°C for six months, on mice using comet as say, DNA fragmentation , and micronucleus test as a good indicators for strand breaks in DNA, as well measuring the malondialdehyde (MDA) level. Three doses 0.8, 1.6 and 2.4 mg/kg bw of 4 commercial fruit drinks were administered orally for mice for 3 weeks beside the control group. Mice were sacrificed 24 hours after the last dose and subjected to micronucleus and comet assays as well DNA degradation and MDA analysis. The results revealed that a significant increase in tail length of comet percentages from blood cells as well in the fre quency of micronucleated cells (MNCs) and DNA fragmentation following administration of commercial fruit drinks was achieved compared to control group. The level of MDA was increased (P<0.05) significantly after administration of commercial fruit drinks especially with the high dose (2.4 mg/ kg bw) of treatment compared to control. In conclusion, this study serves as a warning about the consumption of commercial fruit drinks and for the need for further studies in order to evaluate the long term mutagenic effect of these colorants on human health since some soft drinks are consumed daily by a significant proportion of the world population.Citation: Hassanane MM, Girgis SM, Shoman TMT (2014) Assessment of Potential Mutagenic Effect of Colorant of Some Commercial Fruit Drinks in Mice.