The production of mutagens in the intestine of mice fed on a diet containing 15% sorbic acid (I).

When mice were fed on a diet containing 15% sorbic acid for a period up to 6 months, ether extracts of the intestinal contents of the mice were not mutagenic with Salmonella typhimurium TA98, but the acidic components obtained by fractionating the ether extracts, showed slightly mutagenic activity with S. typhimurium TA98, and they required the addition of liver 9,000 xg supernatant fraction for mutagenic activation. These results suggested that mutagens were gradually produced in the intestine and moved into the liver where they were metabolically activated. It is possible to presume that liver carcinoma might be attributable to the production of these mutagens.