The antimutagenic properties of a polysaccharide produced by Bifidobacterium longum and its cultured milk against some heterocyclic amines.

The antimutagenicity and fermentation pattern of three Bifidobacterium longum strains (B. longum, B. longum PS+, and B. longum PS-) in skim milk were studied. The increase in fermentation time significantly increased antimutagenicity with all strains tested against the mutagenicity of both 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido-[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1) and 3-amino-1-methyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-2) in an Ames-like test using streptomycin-dependent strain SD510 of Salmonella typhimurium TA98. Bifidobacterium longum PS+, a polysaccharide-producing strain, had a longer lag phase but showed the highest inhibition percentage against both mutagens tested. The viability of B. longum PS+ cells was not affected by the low pH of 4.1, probably owing to the protection offered by the polysaccharide produced. The antimutagenicity of the fermented milk against Trp-P-1 was dose dependent. The strains were also able to bind with different amino acid pyrolysates, and B. longum showed the highest binding. Acetone extracts of fermented skim milk dissolved in water showed less antimutagenicity than extracts dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide. The isolated crude polysaccharide from B. longum PS+ showed a dose-dependent inhibition of the mutagenicity of Trp-P-1. Thus, we conclude that the polysaccharide of B. longum PS+ can be used as an antimutagen.