Mutagenicity and mutagens of the red chili pepper as gallbladder cancer risk factor in Chilean women.

High consumption of red chili pepper has been shown to be a risk factor for gallbladder cancer (GBC) in Chilean women with gallstones, and included mutagens may be important in this context. We aimed to investigate the mutagenicity and mutagens in Chilean red chili pepper in the Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA1537, TA100, and TA1535 with and without metabolic activation (S9 mix). Pure capsaicin was tested for mutagenicity using strain TA98. The presence of aflatoxins was evaluated by two-dimensional thin layer chromatography, and then the concentrations of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 were measured by an HPLC system. In strain TA98, the mean numbers of revertant colonies with and without the S9 mix were 2.5- and 2.2-fold higher than those of each negative control, respectively. However, pure capsaicin did not show mutagenic activity in strain TA98. Aflatoxin contamination of red chili pepper was confirmed, and the concentrations of aflatoxins B1 and G1 were 4.4 ng/g and 0.5 ng/g, respectively. Our findings suggest that low-level but protracted exposure to aflatoxins may be associated with the development of GBC in Chilean women who carry gallstones.