MUTAGENICITY OF 1,2-DICARBONYL COMPOUNDS - MALTOL, KOJIC ACID, DIACETYL AND RELATED SUBSTANCES

Our continued interest in naturally occurring mutagens has led us to examine the mutagenic activity of a series of 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds in the Salmonella/microsome assay. Several compounds in this class are of particular toxicological interest because they occur in various foods. Maltol, a product of carbohydrate dehydration, is found in coffee, chicory, soybeans, baked cereals, bread crusts and other products [4,5]. This compound and ethyl maltol, a synthetic homolog of maltol, are also used extensively as flavor-enhancing agents, particularly in carbohydrate-rich foods [10]. Kojic acid was originally isolated from mold-fermented rice. It is a metabolite of many microorganisms including several fungi used in food production [10]. Diacetyl is an aroma component of butter, beer, coffee and other foods [3,12,16,18]. In addition, glyoxal and some related 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds exhibit antiviral and carcinostatic properties [2,19]. We wish to report on the mutagenic activities of these and several other related compounds. © 1979.