Feretti D, Zerbini I, Zani C, Ceretti E, Moretti M, Monarca S
Department of Experimental and Applied Medicine, University of Brescia, Viale Europa, Brescia, Italy.
Food Addit Contam. 2007 Jun;24(6):561-72. doi: 10.1080/02652030601113602.
The Allium cepa assay is an efficient test for chemical screening and in situ monitoring for genotoxicity of environmental contaminants. The test has been used widely to study genotoxicity of many pesticides revealing that these compounds can induce chromosomal aberrations in root meristems of A. cepa. Pesticide residues can be present in fruit and vegetables and represent a risk for human health. The mutagenic and carcinogenic action of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides on experimental animals is well known. Several studies have shown that chronic exposure to low levels of pesticides can cause birth defects and that prenatal exposure is associated with carcinogenicity. This study evaluated the potential application of plant genotoxicity tests for monitoring mutagens in edible vegetables. The presence of pesticides and genotoxic compounds extracted from 21 treated vegetables and eight types of grapes sampled from several markets in Campania, a region in Southern Italy, was monitored concurrently. The extracts were analysed for pesticides by gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography, and for genotoxicity using two plant tests: the micronucleus test and the chromosomal aberration test in A. cepa roots. Thirty-three pesticides were detected, some of which are not approved. Genotoxicity was found in some of the vegetables and grapes tested. Allium cepa tests proved to be sensitive in monitoring genotoxicity in food extracts. The micronucleus test in interphase cells gave a much higher mutagenicity than the chromosomal aberration test in anaphase-telophase cells.
洋葱检测是一种用于环境污染物遗传毒性化学筛选和原位监测的有效测试方法。该测试已被广泛用于研究许多农药的遗传毒性，结果表明这些化合物可诱导洋葱根分生组织中的染色体畸变。水果和蔬菜中可能存在农药残留，对人类健康构成风险。除草剂、杀虫剂和杀菌剂对实验动物的致突变和致癌作用是众所周知的。多项研究表明，长期接触低剂量农药会导致出生缺陷，且产前接触与致癌性有关。本研究评估了植物遗传毒性测试在监测可食用蔬菜中诱变剂方面的潜在应用。同时监测了从意大利南部坎帕尼亚地区几个市场采集的21种经处理蔬菜和8种葡萄中提取的农药和遗传毒性化合物的存在情况。通过气相色谱法和高效液相色谱法分析提取物中的农药，并使用两种植物测试方法检测遗传毒性：微核试验和洋葱根染色体畸变试验。检测到33种农药，其中一些未获批准。在一些测试的蔬菜和葡萄中发现了遗传毒性。洋葱测试被证明对监测食品提取物中的遗传毒性很敏感。间期细胞微核试验的致突变性比后期 - 末期细胞染色体畸变试验高得多。
