THE CLASTOGENIC AND MUTAGENIC EFFECTS OF ASCORBIGEN AND 1'-METHYLASCORBIGEN

Ascorbigen, which occurs naturally in the human diet, and a synthetic analogue (1'-methylascorbigen), were assayed for cytotoxic and clastog enic activities in a SV40-transformed Indian Muntjac cell line (SVM), and for mutagenic activity in the Ames test using Salmonella typhimuri um strains TA98 and TA100. Ascorbigen had no effect upon the clonal su rvival of SVM at concentrations below 0.21 mg/ml and did not induce ei ther chromosome aberrations or sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) at an y concentration tested up to the maximum compatible with the assay con ditions; nor did it induce mutations in either Salmonella strain. In c ontrast, 1'-methylascorbigen was an order of magnitude more cytotoxic, demonstrating a D-q of 0.03 mg/ml, and whilst it too was not found to induce chromosome aberrations it did induce SCEs in SVM (although onl y at highly cytotoxic doses) and mutations in the Ames test.