Antimutagenicity, cytotoxicity and composition of chlorophyllin copper complex.

The preparation of chlorophyllin copper complex (CCC), shown to be a tumor promoter in an animal model (Nelson, R.L. (1992) Chlorophyllin, an antimutagen, acts as a tumor promoter in the rat-dimethylhydrazine colon carcinogenesis model. Anticancer Res., 12, 737-740), also inhibits the activities of direct- and indirect-acting mutagens in the Salmonella assay and exhibits cytostatic and cytocidal effects toward myeloma cells. Data from elemental analyses, spectrophotometry and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography indicate that CCC preparations generally used in antimutagenic/anticarcinogenic experiments are variable, complex mixtures of structurally distinct porphyrins lacking copper in some instances. This variability of the composition may be a cause for the differences reported for the tumor promotion activity of CCC.