Affiliations: Nutritional Science, School of Humanities for
Environmental Policy and Technology, Himeji Institute of Technology, Himeji,
670-0092, Japan | Department of Food Science, Jinan University,
Guangzhou 510630, P.R. of China | Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science,
School of Public Health, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA,
Australia
Abstract: The multistage induction theory is generally regarded as the
mechanism of carcinogenesis. In order to prevent the initiation stage of
carcinogenesis, it is meaningful to discover the functional components of
edible plants. The objective of this research was to test the antimutagenicity
of the functional components of several typical traditional herbs used in
Japan. The traditional herbs, gennoshoko (Geranium nepalense var. thunbergii),
yomogi (Artemisia vulgaris var. indica), senburi (Swertia japonica),
iwa-tobacco (Conandron ramondioides), sarunokoshikake (Elfvingia applanata),
kanzo (Glycyeehiza uralensis Fisch) and matatabi (Actinidia polygama) were
examined by Ames mutagenesis assay test with Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and
TA100 against mutagens, Trp-P-1, Trp-P-2 and B(a)P. The water-soluble
components or volatile oil of the herbs were extracted in boiling water. The
extracts of gennoshoko showed strong antimutagenicity against B(a)P with S.
typhimurium TA98 and TA100, as well as Trp-P-1 and Trp-P-2 with S. typhimurium
TA98. Yomogi, senburi and iwa-tobacco were also proved to have good
antimutagenicity against Trp-P-1 and Trp-P-2 with S. typhimurium TA98, but
weaker antimutagenicity against B(a)P. Other herbs did not show any obvious
antimutagenicity against these mutagens. In addition, the volatile oil of
yomogi also had remarkable antimutagenic effect against the mutagens we used
with S. typhimurium TA98.
