Isolation and characterization of some products of the BHA-nitrite reaction: examination of their mutagenicity.

The reaction mixture and several products arising from the reaction of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and nitrite in anaerobic aqueous acidic solution were separated and tested in the Salmonella mutagenicity test. Among the nine products separable by thin-layer chromatography, 1-hydroxyl-2-tert-butyl-4-methoxy-6-nitrobenzene (BHA-NO2), tert-butyl-substituted para-quinone (t-BuQ) and 3-tert-butyl-5-methoxy-1,2-benzoquinone (t-Bu-o-Q) are dominant. The last compound has not been previously reported in this system. Spot testing indicated at least one further compound of nitroso character and traces of tert-butylhydroquinone (t-BuHQ), which reacts with nitrite to yield t-BuQ. No evidence was found for the formation of the BHA dimer under our conditions. The substances gave no evidence of mutagenicity in the Salmonella typhimurium strains TA 98 and TA 100, either in the standard plate incorporation assay or in the procedure with preincubation with or without S9 mix. In some instances the substances were unstable in the test procedure.