Amino-alpha-carbolines as mutagenic agents in cigarette smoke condensate.

Two mutagenic agents, 2-amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b)indole and 2-amino-3-methyl-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (amino-alpha-carbolines) have been isolated from cigarette smoke condensate for this study. The former agent varied in amounts from a low of 25 ng/cigarette in the smoke of flue-cured tobacco, to a high of 258 ng/cigarette in a cigarette of Japanese domestic variety. The latter ranged in amounts from 9 to 37 ng/cigarette. The contents of these mutagens in the smoke condensate were positively related to an increase in mutagenic activity of Salmonella typhimurium TA 98.