Bacterial mutagenicity of extracts of the baked and raw Agaricus bisporus mushroom.

Aqueous extracts of baked and raw Agaricus bisporus (AB) mushroom were tested for mutagenic activity in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA1535 and TA1537. The extracts were studied with and without metabolic activation by Aroclor-induced rat liver S9 mix. The extracts of the baked and raw AB exhibited a dose related mutagenic activity with and without activation in strain TA1535. Similar findings were obtained in strain TA1537, although the net revertant values were of lower magnitude. Because humans mainly consume the cultivated mushroom AB in baked form, the implications of the findings are self-evident.