Evaluation of potential genotoxicity of five food dyes using the somatic mutation and recombination test

In this study, different concentrations of five food dyes (amaranth, patent blue, carminic acid, indigotine and erythrosine) have been evaluated for genotoxicity in the Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test (SMART) of Drosophila melanogaster. Standard cross was used in the experiment. Larvae including two linked recessive wing hair mutations were chronically fed at different concentrations of the test compounds in standard Drosophila Instant Medium. Feeding ended with pupation of the surviving larvae. Wings of the emerging adult flies were scored for the presence of spots of mutant cells which can result from either somatic mutation or somatic recombination. For the evaluation of genotoxic effects, the frequencies of spots per wing in the treated series were compared to the control group, which was distilled water. The present study shows that carminic acid and indigotine demonstrated negative results while erythrosine demonstrated inconclusive results. In addition 25 mg mL⁻¹ concentration of patent blue and 12.5, 25 and 50 mg mL⁻¹ concentrations of amaranth demonstrated positive results in the SMART.     

Tumor promoting effects of cyanobacterial extracts are potentiated by anthropogenic contaminants--evidence from in vitro study

Inhibition of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) is affiliated with tumor promotion process and it has been employed as an in vitro biomarker for evaluation of tumor promoting effects of chemicals. In the present study we investigated combined effects of anthropogenic environmental contaminants 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 153) and fluoranthene, cyanotoxins microcystin-LR and cylindrospermopsin, and extracts of laboratory cultures of cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon gracile and Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, on GJIC in the rat liver epithelial cell line WB-F344. Binary mixtures of PCB 153 with fluoranthene and the mixtures of the two cyanobacterial strains elicited simple additive effects on GJIC after 30 min exposure, whereas microcystin-LR and cylindrospermopsin neither inhibited GJIC nor altered effects of PCB 153 or fluoranthene. However, synergistic effects were observed in the cells exposed to binary mixtures of anthropogenic contaminants (PCB 153 or fluoranthene) and cyanobacterial extracts. The synergistic effects were especially pronounced after prolonged (6-24 h) co-exposure to fluoranthene and A. gracile extract, when mixture caused nearly complete GJIC inhibition, while none of the individual components caused any downregulation of GJIC at the same concentration and exposure time. The effects of cyanobacterial extracts were independent of microcystin-LR or cylindrospermopsin, which were not detected in cyanobacterial biomass. It provides further evidence on the presence of unknown tumor promoting metabolites in cyanobacteria. Clear potentiation of the GJIC inhibition observed in the mixtures of two anthropogenic contaminants and cyanobacteria highlight the importance of combined toxic effects of chemicals in complex environmental mixtures.