Antimutagenicity of cyclohexanol towards 4-(N-nitrosomethylamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone and N-nitrosodiethylamine in Salmonella typhimurium strain TA100.

The ability of cyclohexanol to inhibit the mutagenicity of tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(N-nitrosomethylamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and of N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) was tested on Salmonella typhimurium strain TA100. Cyclohexanol produced a dose-dependent decrease in the number of revertants induced by a single dose of NNK (24 mumoles) or NDEA (59 mumoles). Nevertheless, this inhibitory effect was not observed with other premutagenic agents such as benzo[a]pyrene and 2-aminoanthracene nor with direct mutagens such as ethyl methanesulfonate and methyl methanesulfonate. These results suggest that cyclohexanol interferes with the 'bioactivation' of the tested nitrosamines in a similar way that other alcohols such as ethanol or isopropanol interfere with N-nitro-sodimethylamine and NDEA metabolism.