[Study of metabolic activation of chemical compounds by using microorganisms. I. Effect of inducers of microsomal systems].

The effect of psychotropic drugs phenobarbital, benzonal, hexamidine and steroid hormone hydrocortizon acetate on the process of metabolic activation of mutagenicity of nitrosomorpholine, cyclophosphamide and benzidine was examines using tester strains TA 1950 and TA 1538 of Salmonella typhimurium (by B. N. Ames). The listed above activators did not modify essentially the mutagenic effect of benzidine. The mutagenic action of nitrosomorpholine was increased by the presence of hydrocortizon acetate. Psychotropic drugs phenobarbital and its structural analogues increased the mutagenic effect of cyclophosphamide and nitrosomorpholine. Phenobarbital was the most potent as an inducer. Benzonal occupied the intermediate position according to the including activity of mutagens examined. Phenobarbital has shown to increase both the content of rat liver microsomal proteins and the specific activity of those. A possible role of microsomal enzymatic inducers as modifiers of the effects of environmental mutagens is discussed.