© 1985 Oxford University Press
research-article |
Studies on the antimutagenic activity of ascorbic acid in vitro and in vivo
Department of Experimental Carcinogenesis and Metabolism, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. Nutley, NJ 07110, USA
1Present address: Department of Biomedical Research, Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, 600 East 233rd Street, Bronx, NY 10466, USA
The possibility that ascorbic acid, as a nucleophile, may in hibit mutagenicity induced by electrophilic metabolites of N-nitroso compounds was examined. In vitro data are presented to show that ascorbic acid does not decrease the mutagenicity of N-methyl-N' -nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) in a modified Ames bacterial mutagenicity system if deionized water is used to prepare the incubation medium. However, ascorbic acid prevents the mutagenicity of MNNG in vitro if added to bacteria in a medium prepared with either sterile tap water or deionized water and Cu2+ ions and that this an-timutagenic response is blocked by EDTA. Additional in vitro experiments suggest that when ascorbic acid and Cu2+ ions are mixed in aqueous solution, H2O2 and free radicals derived from H2O2 are formed and these compounds may deactivate N-nitroso compounds. In vivo data are presented to show that ascorbic acid supplementation to guinea pigs (2000 mg/kg body weight/day) has no effect on the mutagenicity of N-nitrosodimethylamine, MNNG, N-methyl-nitrosourea and streptozotocin using the intrahepatic host-mediated bacterial mutagenicity assay. Additional in vivo studies demonstrate that simultaneous oral administration of ascorbic acid prevents the mutagenicity that follows the in-tragastric nitrosation of aminopyrine by nitrite while dietary pre-treatment with ascorbic acid does not. These findings suggest that ascorbic acid can block the intragastric formation of mutagenic N-nitroso compounds but that ascorbic acid has no effect on mutagenicity of N-nitroso compounds once they are formed.