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The Mutagenicity Of Nutmeg, Mace And Black Pepper And Some Oil Constituents, Vernon Lee Crain Jr.
The Mutagenicity Of Nutmeg, Mace And Black Pepper And Some Oil Constituents, Vernon Lee Crain Jr.
Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects
Three spices, nutmeg, mace and black pepper, and selected oil constituents, safrole, eugenol and myristicin, were tested for mutagenicity using the Aines test.
Safrole, an oil constituent, is a weak hepatic carcinogen in the rat and mouse. Safrole metabolites are more mutagenic than the parent compound. Myristicin and eugenol are structurally related to safrole and break down into similar metabolites as safrole. All three are present in nutmeg, mace and black pepper. These three spices were tested for mutagenicity in the Salmonella/microsomal mutagenicity test using strains TA1535, TA1537, TA1538, TA98 and TAlOO with and without metabolic activation. Safrole, eugenol and …