Mutagenicity of soy sauce treated with nitrite in the presence of ethanol or alcoholic beverages

• Published in: MUTAT. RES.-GENET. TOXICOL 1995-12, Vol.345 (3), p.155-166
• Main Authors: Higashimoto, Minoru, Yamamoto, Takehito, Kinouchi, Takemi, Handa, Yasomi, Matsumoto, Hisao, Ohnishi, Yoshinari
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol; Ames Salmonella mutagenicity test; Inhibition; Nitrite treatment; Soy sauce; Tyramine
• ISSN: 0165-1218
• DOI: 10.1016/0165-1218(95)90051-9

The mutagenicity induced by soy sauce after reaction with 50 mM nitrite at pH 3, 37°C, for 60 min in the presence of 1.25–10% ethanol was reduced in proportion to the ethanol concentration. The mutagenicity of soy sauce treated with nitrite was also reduced in the presence of commercial alcoholic beverages, Japanase sake, wine, ‘shochu’, whisky and brandy, but not beer, in proportion to the concentration. The mutagenicity of nitrite-treated tyramine, which is a major precursor of a mutagen in soy sauce treated with nitrite, was strongly reduced in the presence of ethanol, n-propanol or isopropanol and more strongly reduced in the presence of methanol, but was increased twofold in the presence of the sugars glucose or sucrose. The reduction of the mutagenicity of nitrite-treated tyramine required simultaneous treatment of tyramine with ethanol and nitrite. The mutagenecity of tyramine treated with nitrite was clearly reduced in the presence of shochu and whisky, similarly to ethanol. Analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography revealed that the reduction of the mutagenicity of nitrite-treated tyramine in the presence of ethanol resulted from the reduced production of mutagenic 3-diazotyramine from tyramine.