Natural antioxidants as inhibitors of oxygen species induced mutagenicity.

A ternary antioxidant vitamin mix consisting of ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol and lecithin as well as a rosemary extract with carnosic acid and carnosol as the two major active ingredients were shown to exhibit strong antimutagenic effects in Ames tester strain TA102. This strain has been shown to be highly sensitive to reactive oxygen species. Mutagenicity was induced by the generation of oxygen radicals by tert-butyl-hydroperoxide (tBOOH) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2); therefore, the antimutagenic property of the above substances was attributed to their antioxidant properties. In the case of the vitamin mix, ascorbic acid was held responsible for this inhibitory property, whereas for the rosemary extract carnosic acid was identified as the antimutagenic agent. Since oxygen radicals are known to be involved in the multiprocess of carcinogenicity, it is concluded that these antioxidants might exhibit anticarcinogenic properties.