Clastogenic activity of caramel and caramelized sugars.

Cultured Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were exposed for 3 h to caramelized solutions of the sugars sucrose, glucose, mannose, arabinose, maltose and fructose. Each of these caramelized sugars induced a relatively high frequency of chromosome breaks and exchanges in the treated cells. The non-caramelized sugars did not increase the frequency of chromosome aberrations. A potent clastogenic effect was also observed when a commercially used caramel powder was assayed. Up to 54% of all examined metaphase plates of the treated CHO cells had at least one chromosome break or exchange. This chromosome-damaging action of commercial caramel powder was reduced in the presence of liver microsomal (S9) preparation or FeII and FeIII. The transition metals CuII and MnII neither enhanced nor reduced the clastogenic activity of the caramel powder.