Mutagenicity test with saccharin in the male mouse

The ability of saccharin to induce chromosome aberrations in mammals was tested in male mice injected i.p. with 1, 2, or 4 g saccharin per kg body weight or receiving during a 100 day period 20 g of saccharin per liter of drinking water. Two tests on somatic cells, induction of chromosomal aberrations in bone marrow cells and of micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes, and two tests on germ cells, the spermatocyte test on treated males and the dominant lethality test, yielded all negative results. It is concluded that the positive findings reported in the literature were probably due to the mutagenic activity of saccharin impurities.