The antimutagenic effect of monoterpenes against UV-irradiation-, 4NQO- and t-BOOH-induced mutagenesis in coli

Abstract

The aim of this work was to investigate the antimutagenic potential of monoterpenes from sage and basil in Escherichia coli. The mutagenic potential of monoterpenes was pre-screened with Salmonella/microsome reversion assay in strain TA100 and no mutagenic effect was detected. The antimutagenic potential against UV- 4NQO- and t-BOOH induced mutagenesis was evaluated in E. coli K12 and E. coli WP2 by reversion assays. The obtained results indicate that camphor and thujone reduce UV- and 4NQO-induced mutations; myrcene reduces t-BOOH-induced mutations, while eucalyptol and linalool reduce mutagenicity by all tested mutagens. Considering evolutionary conservation of DNA repair and antioxidative protection, the obtained results indicate that further antigenotoxicity studies should be undertaken in eukaryotes.