Mutagenic activity of p-toluenesulfonhydrazide.

Toluenesulfonhydrazide (TSH) is a high volume production chemical for which there is relatively little toxicological data. In this study, the mutagenic activity of TSH was determined in the Salmonella/mammalian microsome assay and the in vitro chromosomal aberration assay using Chinese hamster ovary cells. TSH induced gene mutations both with and without metabolic activation in the Salmonella/mammalian microsome assay but that it did not induce chromosomal aberrations in Chinese hamster ovary cells. The results of this study indicate that TSH is an in vitro mutagen and should be assessed for in vivo mutagenicity.