Fruits and Vegetables as Dietary Sources of Antimutagens

Abstract

Mutation is the process leading to heritable changes in the genetic material of an organism and caused mainly by the external factors, including chemical and physical agents, or can also occur spontaneously due to errors in DNA replication, repair, and recombination. Agents contributing to the mutagenic burden in the environment could be from industrial sources, wide spectrum applications of biocides in the agriculture, and other contaminants. As many of these mutagenic chemicals can induce severe disorders in humans including cancer and a large spectrum of inherited diseases, it is important to detect such mutagenic agents precisely and rapidly, and also look for an approach to combat them. Natural occurring dietary antimutagens primarily from health protective foods such as fruits and vegetables could provide a mechanism to counteract the deleterious effect of these mutagens. The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that one-third of all cancer deaths are preventable and that diet is closely linked to cancer prevention. These health protective phytochemicals particularly antimutagenic ones could provide an effective solution to these concerns. The current review deals with understanding of the mutagenic events, methods of its analysis and a brief compilation of the existing scientific findings related to the dietary sources having potential to counteract the effects of the mutagenic exposures from different sources. The review would provide an opportunity to look into the science, think about the possible future perspectives and mechanism to translate the outcome of the scientific research for benefits of the mankind.

Antimutagenic components in Spatholobus suberectus Dunn against N-methyl-N-nitrosourea

“…Flavonoids are well-known antimutagens that have been detected by Ames assays [31, 32], and there are several reports that use MNU as a mutagen [33]. Although genistein has been reported to inhibit MNU-induced mutagenicity, we also tested for its antimutagenicity towards MNU to compare with those of the other isolated flavonoids [34].…”

No induced mutagenesis in human lymphoblast cell line and bacterial systems upon their prolonged sub‐culturing in irradiated food blended media

“…The human lymphoblast mutation (HLM) assay was employed to assess induced mutagenesis (if any) by irradiated foods at two gene loci ( tk +/− and hprt + ) in TK6 human lymphoblast cell line . In brief, wild‐type cells ( tk +/− or hprt + ) were sub‐cultured (cell density ∼ 2 × 10 5 cells mL −1 ) in RPMI 1640 medium fortified with irradiated food (10–20 g irradiated food per 1000 mL; after S9 metabolic activation).…”

Current Trends and Future Perspectives of Antimutagenic Agents

“…Mutagenicity is the process of induction of permanent heritable changes in the DNA sequence of living systems [1]. It is caused mainly by the external factors, including chemical and physical agents, or can also occur spontaneously due to errors in DNA repair, replicationand recombination [2]. A number of mutagens have been recognized in our environment recently as many factors which modulate the toxic activities either in vitro or in vivo [3].…”

“…These mutagenic chemicals have severe drawbacks in humans such as cancer and various inherited diseases; therefore, it is important to detect such mutagenic agents precisely and rapidly and also look for solutions to combat them [2].…”

“…Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that one-third of all cancer death incidences are preventable depending on the diet type especially health protective phytochemicals that provide an effective solution to these concerns [4]. The current chapter will present the mutagenic events and a brief compilation of the existing scientific findings either from dietary sources or synthetic agents that have the potential activity to combat the disorders caused by the mutagenic agents, putting in mind possible future perspectives and mechanism of antimutagenics [2].…”