Abstract
A preliminary study has been carried out for the evaluation of the exposure of human body to carcinogens/mutagens in daily life based on the estimation of mutagenic activity of urine. Blue rayon extracts of urine samples were assayed with Salmonella strains TA98 and YG1024 under the presence and absence of a metabolic activation system (S9 mix). The mutagenic activity was not enhanced by β-glucuronidase treatment. YG1024 was about 10 times sensitive compared to parent strain TA98, and high correlation was observed between the results by both strains. It was capable to monitor time-course variation of mutagenic activity of urine by the usual pre-incubation method with YG1024. Some urine samples showed very potent mutagenic activity in the absence of S9 mix, which had not been reported previously. Mutagenic activity increased after smoking (smoker) and after taking meals like roasted or fried meat (non-smoker) in the presence of S9 mix. It has been suggested that the measurement of mutagenic activity of urine is useful for the evaluation of the exposure of human body to carcinogens/mutagens.
