The antimutagenic effect of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) was investigated by using the Drosophila wing spot test. In this assay, 3-day-old transheterozygous larvae for the multiple wing hair (mwh, ) and flare (flr, ) genes were treated with 3 direct acting mutagens: ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and N-nitroso N-ethylurea (ENU). | Turk J Biol 27 (2003) 241-246 © TÜB‹TAK Anti-Genotoxic Effect of Ascorbic Acid on Mutagenic Dose of Three Alkylating Agents Bülent KAYA Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya - TURKEY Received: Abstract: The antimutagenic effect of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) was investigated by using the Drosophila wing spot test. In this assay, 3-day-old transheterozygous larvae for the multiple wing hair (mwh, ) and flare (flr, ) genes were treated with 3 direct acting mutagens: ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and N-nitroso N-ethylurea (ENU). The results obtained from 3 reference mutagens were clearly genotoxic in the Drosophila wing somatic mutation and recombination test. The calculated concentration of ascorbic acid as recommended dietary allowance (RDA) did not induce the frequency of the mutant clones recorded. When co-treatment experiments with ascorbic acid were carried out, ascorbic acid was effective in reducing the genotoxicity of the 3 direct acting mutagens. Key Words: Drosophila, ascorbic acid, antigenotoxicity, somatic cells Askorbik Asitin Üç Alkilleyici Ajan›n Mutajenik Dozuna Anti-Genotoksik Etkisi Özet: Bu çal›flmada askorbik asitin antimutajenik etkisi Drozofila kanat benek testi kullan›larak araflt›r›ld›. Bu çal›flmada, “multiple wing hairs” (mwh, 3-0,3) ve “flare” (flr, 3-38,8) genleri bak›m›ndan 3-günlük transheterozigot larvalara do¤rudan etkileyen mutajenler; etil metansülfonat (EMS), metil metansülfonat (MMS) ve N-nitrozo N-etilüre (ENU) uygulamas› yap›ld›. Drozofila Kanat Somatik Mutasyon ve Rekombinasyon Testinde elde edilen sonuçlar bu üç mutajenin aç›kça genotoksik etkiye sahip oldu¤unu gösterdi. Askorbik asitin günlük al›nmas› tavsiye edilen miktar›na (RDA) göre hesaplanan konsantrasyon mutant klon frekans›n› indüklemedi. Askorbik asitle mutajenler birlikte uyguland›¤›nda, askorbik asit bu üç mutajenin genotoksik etkisinin azalmas›nda .
