Isolation and studies of the mutagenic activity of saponins in the Ames test.

Mutagenic activity of medicagenic acid, medicagenic acid 3-0-glucopyranoside and soyasaponin I was tested by the Ames method with S. typhimurium strains TA97, TA98, TA100, TA102 in the absence and the presence of metabolic activation (S9 mix). These saponins have been isolated and identified from alfalfa roots and clover Trifolium incarnatum seeds. All of them were found to be non-toxic and non-mutagenic for testing doses.