Examination of some fragrance substances for mutagenic activity.

We tested 64 perfumes and aftershaves for mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100; most were tested both with and without metabolic activation. None of the test compounds gave a positive mutagenic response. The available amounts of some test samples were very small, however, and the possibility that larger samples might have produced positive results cannot be altogether discounted. Some tests indicated the presence of cytotoxic substances which require chemical analysis.