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Black pepper genotoxic in mice?
Pergamon
Food and Chemical Toxicology 34 (1997) 1187-1199
hformafion Section ABSTRACTS
FROM THE LITERATURE
Sucrose polyester When energy from fat was reduced from 32% to 20% by substitution of some of the fat in the day’s diet by olestra, a sucrose polyester, a group of 15 UK volunteers reported feeling more hungry while consuming the diet and at the end of the day. On the following day when there were no dietary restrictions they compensated for 74% of the energy (fat) deficit caused by the previous day’s manipulation. It has been shown previously that a 40% to 30% fat reduction (using ‘olestra’) could be achieved without any rebound problems. The investigators of the current study concluded that a “more severe reduction reveals that a reduction in fat of this size can lead to a biobehavioral response” and that while “people could change their diet to meet dietary guidelines . . . if a more severe reduction is attempted, adherente may be made more difficult by the strength of the compensatory response” (Cotton J.R. et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1996, 63, 891).
Sunset Yellow FCF - reproductive toxicity in mice In a two-generation study, Sunset Yellow FCF produced subtle behavioural changes in the offspring of mice throu.ghout the tested dietary levels of 0.15 to 0.6%. The male and female mice were treated from 5 WE; of age throughout mating, gestation and lactation; for most of this time the lowest dietary leve1 of O.15% produced a dose of about 230-290 mg/kg body weight/day (Tanaka T. et al., Toxicology and Industrial Health 1996, 12,69).
Bracken ptaquiloslde in milk Investigators from Venezuela and New Zealand have reported the presence of ptaquiloside in the milk of cows fed bracken. This norsesquiterpene has been previously identified as the ‘potent’ genotoxic carcinogen which may be responsible for cases of tumours in farm animals consuming bracken. The investigators estimated that a person drinking around 0.5 litres of milk daily may be exposed to about 10 mi; ptaquiloside/day if the cow had consumed 6-7 kg of bracken daily-an amount 0278-6915/97/$17.00 + 0.00Published FCTSI-1*,12-F
described as typical. They hypothesized that ptaquiloside in milk may be responsible for gastric cancer incidences in Costa Rican farmers and in other countries where bracken growth is dense (Alonso-Amelot M.E. et al., Nature 1996,382,587).
Fusaric acid and reproductive toxicity Fusaric acid, a toxic metabolite produced by Fusarium moniltfomze-a mould found in torn and other cereal grains, caused foetal toxicity when given to mice (by stomach tube) at maternally toxic doses of 112.5 mg/kg body weight/day and above on days 7-15 of pregnancy. There was no convincing evidente of effects on either the mothers or their offspring at 100 mg/kg body weight (Reddy R.V. et aL., Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 1996,57,354).
Methylmercury and nervous system disorders Evidente of early nervous system effects were obtained in a preliminary study of 29 adults from two Amazonian populations living downstream from gold-mining activities and exposed to low levels of methylmercury in the fish. Visual and, in the females, motor function disturbances increased with increasing hair levels of total mercury (5.6-38.4 &g; mean leve1 14.0 lg/g) and methylmercury (72.2-93.3% of total mercury; median 86.1%). The investigators concluded that “the findings of this study demonstrate that it is possible . . . to detect alterations in nervous system functions . . . at levels below the currently recognized threshold of 50 pg/g [hair total mercury]” (Lebel J. etal., Neurotoxicology 1996, 17, 157).
Black pepper genotoxic in mice? A brief abstract of a poster presented at the 1995 annual meeting of the European Environmental Mutagen Society indicates that black pepper produces chromosome damage in mice. Micronuclei were induced in the red blood cells following repeated oral doses of 0.5-1.5 mg/kg body weight/day for 3-6 wk (‘Madrigal-Bujaidar E. et al., Mutation Research 1996,360, 282):
by Elsevier Science Ltd. Al1 rights
reserved.
Printed
in Great
Britain
Food and Chemical Toxicology 34 (1997) 1187-1199
hformafion Section ABSTRACTS
FROM THE LITERATURE
Sucrose polyester When energy from fat was reduced from 32% to 20% by substitution of some of the fat in the day’s diet by olestra, a sucrose polyester, a group of 15 UK volunteers reported feeling more hungry while consuming the diet and at the end of the day. On the following day when there were no dietary restrictions they compensated for 74% of the energy (fat) deficit caused by the previous day’s manipulation. It has been shown previously that a 40% to 30% fat reduction (using ‘olestra’) could be achieved without any rebound problems. The investigators of the current study concluded that a “more severe reduction reveals that a reduction in fat of this size can lead to a biobehavioral response” and that while “people could change their diet to meet dietary guidelines . . . if a more severe reduction is attempted, adherente may be made more difficult by the strength of the compensatory response” (Cotton J.R. et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1996, 63, 891).
Sunset Yellow FCF - reproductive toxicity in mice In a two-generation study, Sunset Yellow FCF produced subtle behavioural changes in the offspring of mice throu.ghout the tested dietary levels of 0.15 to 0.6%. The male and female mice were treated from 5 WE; of age throughout mating, gestation and lactation; for most of this time the lowest dietary leve1 of O.15% produced a dose of about 230-290 mg/kg body weight/day (Tanaka T. et al., Toxicology and Industrial Health 1996, 12,69).
Bracken ptaquiloslde in milk Investigators from Venezuela and New Zealand have reported the presence of ptaquiloside in the milk of cows fed bracken. This norsesquiterpene has been previously identified as the ‘potent’ genotoxic carcinogen which may be responsible for cases of tumours in farm animals consuming bracken. The investigators estimated that a person drinking around 0.5 litres of milk daily may be exposed to about 10 mi; ptaquiloside/day if the cow had consumed 6-7 kg of bracken daily-an amount 0278-6915/97/$17.00 + 0.00Published FCTSI-1*,12-F
described as typical. They hypothesized that ptaquiloside in milk may be responsible for gastric cancer incidences in Costa Rican farmers and in other countries where bracken growth is dense (Alonso-Amelot M.E. et al., Nature 1996,382,587).
Fusaric acid and reproductive toxicity Fusaric acid, a toxic metabolite produced by Fusarium moniltfomze-a mould found in torn and other cereal grains, caused foetal toxicity when given to mice (by stomach tube) at maternally toxic doses of 112.5 mg/kg body weight/day and above on days 7-15 of pregnancy. There was no convincing evidente of effects on either the mothers or their offspring at 100 mg/kg body weight (Reddy R.V. et aL., Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 1996,57,354).
Methylmercury and nervous system disorders Evidente of early nervous system effects were obtained in a preliminary study of 29 adults from two Amazonian populations living downstream from gold-mining activities and exposed to low levels of methylmercury in the fish. Visual and, in the females, motor function disturbances increased with increasing hair levels of total mercury (5.6-38.4 &g; mean leve1 14.0 lg/g) and methylmercury (72.2-93.3% of total mercury; median 86.1%). The investigators concluded that “the findings of this study demonstrate that it is possible . . . to detect alterations in nervous system functions . . . at levels below the currently recognized threshold of 50 pg/g [hair total mercury]” (Lebel J. etal., Neurotoxicology 1996, 17, 157).
Black pepper genotoxic in mice? A brief abstract of a poster presented at the 1995 annual meeting of the European Environmental Mutagen Society indicates that black pepper produces chromosome damage in mice. Micronuclei were induced in the red blood cells following repeated oral doses of 0.5-1.5 mg/kg body weight/day for 3-6 wk (‘Madrigal-Bujaidar E. et al., Mutation Research 1996,360, 282):
by Elsevier Science Ltd. Al1 rights
reserved.
Printed
in Great
Britain