ANTIMUTAGENICITY, CYTOTOXICITY AND COMPOSITION OF CHLOROPHYLLIN COPPER COMPLEX

The preparation of chlorophyllin copper complex (CCC), shown to be a t umor promoter in an animal model (Nelson, R.L. (1992) Chlorophyllin, a n antimutagen, acts as a tumor promoter in the rat-dimethylhydrazine c olon carcinogenesis model. Anticancer Res., 12, 737-740), also inhibit s the activities of direct-and indirect-acting mutagens in the Salmone lla assay and exhibits cytostatic and cytocidal effects toward myeloma cells. Data from elemental analyses, spectrophotometry and reversed-p hase high-performance liquid chromatography indicate that CCC preparat ions generally used in antimutagenic/anticarcinogenic experiments are variable, complex mixtures of structurally distinct porphyrins lacking copper in some instances. This variability of the composition may be a cause for the differences reported for the tumor promotion activity of CCC. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.