Many substances in the plant kingdom and in man's diet occur as glycosides. Recent studies have indicated that many glycosides that are not mutagenic in tests such as the Salmonella test become mutagenic upon hydrolysis of the glycosidic linkages. The Salmonella test utilizes a liver homogenate to approximate mammalian metabolism but does not provide a source of the enzymes present in intestinal bacterial flora that hydrolyze the wide variety of glycosides present in nature. We describe a stable cell-free extract of human feces, fecalase, which is shown to contain various glycosidases that allow the in vitro activation of many natural glycosides to mutagens in the Salmonella/liver homogenate test. Many beverages, such as red wine (but apparently not white wine) and tea, contain glycosides of the mutagen quercetin. Red wine, red grape juice, and tea were mutagenic in the test when fecalase was added, and red wine contained considerable direct mutagenic activity in the absence of fecalase. The implications of quercetin mutagenicity and carcinogenicity are discussed.Damage to DNA by environmental mutagens, both natural and man-made, is likely to be a major cause of cancer and other diseases (1, 2). The Salmonella test (3), along with other short-term tests (4), is being used to survey a wide variety of substances in our environment for mutagenicity. The test measures back mutation in several specially constructed mutants of Salmonella bacteria. A homogenate of rat liver (or other mammalian liver) is added to the (Salmonella) test as an approximation of mammalian metabolism (3). By using this system, approximately 85% 1 5% of the organic carcinogens tested have been detected as mutagens (5-9).Recent studies indicate that many naturally occurring glycosides of mutagenic aglycones are not mutagenic in the Salmonella test (10-23). These glycosides are hydrolyzed by the bacteria in the human intestine where the mutagen is liberated. They are not cleaved by the liver or by liver homogenates used in the Salmonella test. For example, cycasin, a f3-D-glucoside of the mutagen methylazoxymethanol, is not mutagenic in the Salmonella test unless 3-glucosidase is added to the standard test (20,21). Cycasin is a carcinogen in rats but is not a carcinogen when tested with germ-free rats (24, 25), which lack the microorganisms that cleave the sugar from the mutagenic moiety.An enormous variety of substances are present as glycosides in the plant kingdom (10-27). It is desirable to have an enzyme preparation for use in mutagenicity tests that will hydrolyze the hundreds of sugars in these glycosides. have developed a cell-free extract of rat cecal bacteria, cecalase, for use in mutagenicity testing. 22) have used hesperidinase, a mold enzyme preparation, for this pur-The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U. S.