Lack of carcinogenicity of agaritine by subcutaneous administration in mice.

Agaritine (A), an ingredient of the cultivated mushroom of commerce Agaricus bisporus, was administered by subcutaneous injection to two groups of randomly bred Swiss mice. In the first group the animals of both sexes were treated at a 100 micrograms/g body weight basis five times at weekly intervals, while in the second group the mice received a single A treatment of 100 micrograms/g body weight for females and 50 micrograms/g body weight for males. The administration of the compound resulted in no detectable carcinogenic effect in the animals. Since some of the breakdown products of A were shown to be carcinogenic in mice and the mushroom itself was found to be mutagenic, the field is discussed in the light of the obtained results.