Polyamines and their potential to be antimutagens

In order to determine the antimutagenic potential of polyamines, modified Ames tests were performed. Polyamines spermine, spermidine and putrescine all showed antimutagenic potential against EMS-induced reversions. In addition, the polyamines spermidine and putrescine showed potential to reduce the number of spontaneous revertants in modified Ames tests. Since spermidine and putrescine have the potential to reduce spontaneous mutations, we decided to perform DNA fidelity assays. DNA fidelity assays confirmed that putrescine has the potential to reduce the mutation frequency. However, spermidine had no effect. This suggests that putrescine may play a vital role in DNA synthesis and possibly be the active compound that plays a role in affecting EMS-induced mutations in the modified Ames tests. This is possible since all cells have the potential to convert spermine and spermidine to putrescine. However, since the DNA fidelity assay is an in vitro assay, the enzymes required for the conversion of spermine and spermidine to putrescine are absent. The possibility of conversion and the rate of conversion need further study.