Antimutagenic potential and modulation of carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes by ginger essential oil.

Essential oil extracted from ginger (GEO) was evaluated for its mutagenicity to Salmonella typhimurium TA 98, TA 100, TA 102, and TA 1535 strains with and without microsomal activation. GEO was found to be non-mutagenic up to a concentration of 3 mg/plate. It was also assessed for antimutagenic potential against direct acting mutagens such as sodium azide, 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, tobacco extract, and 2-acetamidoflourene, which needs microsomal activation. GEO significantly inhibited (p < 0.001) the mutagenicity induced by these agents in a concentration-dependent manner. The effect of GEO to modulate the action of phase I carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes was investigated by studying its effect on various isoforms of microsomal cytochrome P450 enzymes. Significant inhibition of CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP2B1/2, aniline hydroxylase (an indicator of CYP2E1 activity), and aminopyrine-N-demethylase (indicator of CYP1A, 2A, 2B, 2D, and 3A activity) was shown by GEO both in vitro and in vivo. GEO gave an IC50 value of 30, 57.5, and 40 µg for CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP2B1/2, respectively, 55 µg for aniline hydroxylase, and 37.5 µg for aminopyrene-N-demethylase. GEO also significantly increased the levels of phase II carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronyl transferase and glutathione-S-transferase in vivo indicating the use of GEO as an antimutagen and as a potential chemopreventive agent.