Effect of butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole on the mutagenicity of 3,2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl.

This study was undertaken to investigate the possible antimutagenic effects of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) on 3,2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl (DMAB)-induced mutagenicity, using the Ames Salmonella/mammalian microsome system. The addition of 100-250 micrograms of BHT or 25-500 micrograms of BHA/plate was found to inhibit DMAB-induced mutagenicity in Salmonella strains TA 98 and TA 100. In TA 100, the mutagenicity was further inhibited with the addition of S9 prepared from the livers of rats fed a 0.6% BHT diet as compared to S9 from the animals fed a diet containing no BHT.