Press "Enter" to skip to content

Evaluation of mutagenic and genotoxic responses of food preservatives using bacterial and plant test systems

Mahinder Kaur, Saroj Arora & Jatinder Kaur Katnoria*

Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences,

Guru Nanak Dev University,

Amritsar-143005, Punjab(India)

Received, 28th December, 2014 ; Revised: 5th February, 2015.

Abstract: The aim of present study was to explore mutagenic and genotoxic effects of two most commonly used food preservatives viz., propylene glycol(liquid form) and sodium benzoate (powder form) using Ames Salmonella mutagenicity assay(with and without metabolic activation) and Allium sativum root chromosomal aberration assay. Both these compounds are widely used in the preservation of food items such as salads, jams, fruits juices, pickles, condiments and beverages as well as liquid food dyes. During Ames assay, propylene glycol increased the number of TA 100 revertants by two fold at concentration of 250μ 1/0.1 ml culture while sodium benzoate at 25 μg/0.1 ml culture. The preservatives did not induce any mutagenic response in TA98 tester strain. During Allium sativum root chromosomal aberration assay, both preservatives induced physiological as well as clastogenic aberrations in root tip cells of Allium sativum. The spectrum of chromosomal aberrations included c-mitosis, delayed anaphases, stickiness, chromatin bridges and chromosomal beaks. The present study reveals the mutagenic and genotoxic potential of propylene glycol and sodium benzoate.

Download pdf

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply