Increase of Urinary 8-OH-dG Levels after Administration of a Vitamin-deficient Diet and a Sweet Beverage

Abstract

To clarify the in vivo genotoxic potential of dietary style, the amounts of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), a marker of oxidative DNA damage, were determined by a high-performance liquid chromatography system coupled to an electrochemical detector (HPLC-ECD) in the urine of female mice to which a vitamin-deficient diet (for two months) and a sweet beverage (for two weeks) were administered. The urinary 8-OH-dG levels were clearly increased in these studies. In the vitamin-deficient diet experiment, the urinary 8-OH-dG levels were increased to 1.2-fold and 1.4-fold after one month and two months, respectively. When mice were given a commercially available sweet beverage instead of water for two weeks, the urinary 8-OH-dG was increased to 1.4-fold. In the sweet beverage experiment, significant increases of the volume consumed per day were observed, as compared to the control group (water). Although the total caloric intake per day was not remarkably different between the sweet beverage- and control-group, the mice in the sweet beverage group obtained a higher ratio of calories from sugar components. These results indicated that the elevation of oxidative stress could be caused by the prolonged intake of an unbalanced diet, such as a vitamin-deficient diet or one including sweet beverages.