Mutagenicity of hydrolysates of citrus fruit juices

Hydrolysates of citrus fruit juice were mutagenic according to the Ames test. The citrus fruit juices were hydrolysed with 1 M HCl, hesperidinase, naringinase and human intestinal bacteria. The hydrolysates were successively extracted with n-hexane, chloroform, diethyl ether and ethyl acetate. The mutagenicities of extracts were assayed by the Ames test, and the mutagens were analysed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Mutagenicities of hydrolysates of citrus fruit juice were found in both the chloroform extracts and the ether extracts. The chloroform extracts were mutagenic to TA98 and TA100 with S9 mix, and the ether extracts were mutagenic to TA98 and TA100 with or without S9 mix. Some known flavonols such as kaempferol and quercetin were detected in the extracts of the hydrolysates by GC-MS. It is suggested that the mutagenicity of the extracts originated from those flavonols in the citrus fruit juice.