Mutagenicity of alcoholic beverages

The mutagenicities of evaporated residues of alcoholic beverages were tested by the Ames method with the modification of pre-incubation, by using Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and TA98. 12 of 13 brands of whisky were mutagenic to TA100 without S9 mix. Addition of S9 mix decreased or abolished these mutagenicities. 5 brands of brandy and 1 apple brandy were tested, and all showed a similar type of mutagenicity to that of whisky. A fraction of brand-K whisky, containing a major mutagen(s), eluted from XAD-2 column with water, gave 3800 revertants of TA100 per plate at a dose equivalent to 10 ml of whisky.