Butylated hydroxyanisole increases glutathione-S-transferase activity in hepatocyte culture

The effect of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) on the activity of glutathione-S-transferase (GSH-S-T) in hepatocyte culture was determined. Hepatocytes from control rats and rats injected with 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC) were isolated and cultured. The cultures were treated with various concentrations of BHA. Treatment of hepatocytes from both control and 3-MC-injected rats with 25 microM BHA for 24 or 48 hours increased GSH-S-T activity significantly. The results suggest that BHA may have a detoxifying effect against 3-MC-induced carcinogenesis, and that hepatocyte culture may be a fast and simple system to identify compounds which may potentially protect against development of cancer through induction of GSH-S-T.