Genotoxicity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the hepatocyte primary culture/DNA-repair test.

The genotoxicity of 6 pyrrolizidine alkaloids and 2 related compounds was examined in the hepatocyte primary culture/DNA-repair test and compared to mutagenicity in a modified Salmonella/microsome test. All 6 pyrrolizidine alkaloids were positive in the DNA-repair test, and 4 of these are known to be carcinogenic. Of the 6 positive compounds, only 5 were mutagenic. Thus, the hepatocyte primary culture/DNA-repair test displays a comparable or better capacity than the bacterial mutagenesis test for detecting the genotoxic effects of this class of carcinogens.