Mutagenic activity of the feces of rats following oral administration of tartrazine.

After oral administration of the azo dye tartrazine, bile and feces of treated rats were investigated for mutagenicity using the Ames test with Salmonella typhimurium strains TA 98 and TA 100 with and without metabolic activation. In the presence of S 9-mix fecal extracts developed a weak but reproducible dose-related response in strain TA 100. In bile no metabolites exerting mutagenic activity were found.