Mutagenicity of bovine lactoferrin in reverse mutation test

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K Yamauchi1, T Toida, A Kawai

  • 1Nutritional Science Laboratory, Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd., Kanagawa, Japan.

The Journal of Toxicological Sciences
|June 9, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Bovine lactoferrin, an iron-binding glycoprotein, was tested for mutagenicity using the Ames test. The study found no evidence of mutagenic activity in bovine lactoferrin across various bacterial strains and test conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Toxicology
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Bovine lactoferrin is an iron-binding glycoprotein found in milk.
  • Assessing the safety of food components like lactoferrin is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the mutagenicity of bovine lactoferrin using the Ames mutagenicity test.
  • To determine if bovine lactoferrin poses a genetic risk.

Main Methods:

  • The Ames test was employed, utilizing five bacterial strains (Salmonella typhimurium TA100, TA1535, TA98, TA1537, and Escherichia coli WP2uvrA).
  • Both direct and metabolic activation methods with preincubation were conducted.
  • Bovine lactoferrin concentrations ranged from 0.16 to 5.00 mg/100 microliters.

Main Results:

  • The number of revertant colonies in treated groups was consistently below 1.4 times that of the control group.
  • No significant increase in mutations was observed across all tested strains and conditions.

Conclusions:

  • Under the conditions of this study, bovine lactoferrin demonstrated no mutagenic potential.
  • The Ames test results indicate that bovine lactoferrin is not genotoxic.

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