MUTAGENICITY OF SUNSET YELLOW AND BRILLIANT BLACK IN Vicia faba L. AND Allium cepa L.

摘要

The objective of the present study was to apply highly sensitive botanical tests of mutagenicity (Vicia faba L. root tip mitosis test, micronucleus test, and Allium cepa L. root tip mitosis test) to assess in vitro the biological responses induced by food-coloring substances. The mutagenesis was evaluated using two different food-coloring agents which are Sunset Yellow (E 110) and Brilliant Black (E 151). For mutagenesis, four different concentrations (10, 200, 1000, 2000 ppm) of both food colorants were applied to plants by spraying and adding to the irrigation water. All experiments were carried out under controlled conditions in the laboratory.rnThe results consistently showed that mutation levels increased, depending on the dosage, in all plant groups. In addition, while micronucleus frequency (MCN) significantly increased (p<0.05) and mitotic indexes significantly decreased (p<0.05) with the increasing dosages in Vicia faba L. and Allium cepa L. It was also detected that both food-coloring agents had genotoxic potential on plants with different sensitivities and Vicia faba L. or Allium cepa L. plants are appropriate for mutagenicity studies.