T.B. Adams

The FEMA GRAS assessment of aliphatic and aromatic terpene hydrocarbons used as flavor ingredients

This publication is the thirteenth in a series of safety evaluations performed by the Expert Panel of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA). In 1993, the Panel initiated a comprehensive program to re-evaluate the safety of more than 1700 GRAS flavoring substances under conditions of intended use. Since then, the number of flavoring substances has grown to more than 2600 substances. Elements that are fundamental to the safety evaluation of flavor ingredients include exposure, structural analogy, metabolism, pharmacokinetics and toxicology. Flavor ingredients are evaluated individually and in the context of the available scientific information on the group of structurally related substances. Scientific data relevant to the safety evaluation of the use of aliphatic and aromatic terpene hydrocarbons as flavoring ingredients are evaluated. The group of aliphatic and aromatic terpene hydrocarbons was reaffirmed as GRAS (GRASr) based, in part, on their self-limiting properties as flavoring substances in food; their rapid absorption, metabolic detoxication, and excretion in humans and other animals; their low level of flavor use; the wide margins of safety between the conservative estimates of intake and the no-observed-adverse effect levels determined from subchronic and chronic studies and the lack of significant genotoxic potential.

Mode of Action of Pulegone on the Urinary Bladder of F344 Rats

Essential oils from mint plants, including peppermint and pennyroyal oils, are used at low levels as flavoring agents in various foods and beverages. Pulegone is a component of these oils. In a 2-year bioassay, oral administration of pulegone slightly increased the urothelial tumor incidence in female rats. We hypothesized that its mode of action (MOA) involved urothelial cytotoxicity and increased cell proliferation, ultimately leading to tumors. Pulegone was administered by gavage at 0, 75, or 150 mg/kg body weight to female rats for 4 and 6 weeks. Fresh void urine and 18-h urine were collected for crystal and metabolite analyses. Urinary bladders were evaluated by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling index. Pulegone and its metabolites, piperitenone, piperitone, menthofuran, and menthone, were tested for cytotoxicity in rat (MYP3) and human (1T1) urothelial cells by the 3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay. No abnormal urinary crystals were observed by light microscopy. Urine samples (18-h) showed the presence of pulegone, piperitone, piperitenone, and menthofuran in both treated groups. By SEM, bladders from treated rats showed superficial necrosis and exfoliation. There was a significant increase in the BrdU labeling index in the high-dose group. In vitro studies indicated that pulegone and its metabolites, especially piperitenone, are excreted and concentrated in the urine at cytotoxic levels when pulegone is administered at high doses to female rats. The present study supports the hypothesis that cytotoxicity followed by regenerative cell proliferation is the MOA for pulegone-induced urothelial tumors in female rats.

The FEMA GRAS assessment of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and related substances used as flavor ingredients

This publication is the 12th in a series of safety evaluations performed by the Expert Panel of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA). In 1993, the Panel initiated a comprehensive program to re-evaluate the safety of more than 1700 GRAS flavoring substances under conditions of intended use. Since then, the number of flavoring substances has grown to more than 2200 chemically-defined substances. Elements that are fundamental to the safety evaluation of flavor ingredients include exposure, structural analogy, metabolism, toxicodynamics and toxicology. Scientific data relevant to the safety evaluation for the use of aliphatic, linear alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes and structurally related substances as flavoring ingredients are evaluated. The group of substances was reaffirmed as GRAS (GRASr) based, in part, on their self-limiting properties as flavoring substances in food; their low level of flavor use; the rapid absorption and metabolism of low in vivo concentrations by well-recognized biochemical pathways; adequate metabolic detoxication at much higher levels of exposure in humans and animals; the wide margins of safety between the conservative estimates of intake and the no-observed-adverse effect levels determined from subchronic and chronic studies. While some of the compounds described here have exhibited positive in vitro genotoxicity results, evidence of in vivo genotoxicity and carcinogenicity occurs only under conditions in which animals are repeatedly and directly exposed to high irritating concentrations of the aldehyde. These conditions are not relevant to humans who consume alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes as flavor ingredients at low concentrations distributed in a food or beverage matrix.

Impact of structural and metabolic variations on the toxicity and carcinogenicity of hydroxy- and alkoxy-substituted allyl- and propenylbenzenes

The metabolic fate of a compound is determined by numerous factors including its chemical structure. Although the metabolic options for a variety of functional groups are well understood and can often provide a rationale for the comparison of toxicity based on structural analogy, at times quite minor structural variations may have major consequences for metabolic outcomes and toxicity. In this perspective, the effects of structural variations on metabolic outcomes is detailed for a group of related hydroxy- and alkoxy-substituted allyl- and propenylbenzenes. These classes of compounds are naturally occurring constituents of a variety of botanical-based food items. The classes vary from one another by the presence or absence of alkylation of their para-hydroxyl substituents and/or the position of the double bond in the alkyl side chain. We provide an overview of how these subtle structural variations alter the metabolism of these important food-borne compounds, ultimately influencing their toxicity, particularly their DNA reactivity and carcinogenic potential. The data reveal that detailed knowledge of the consequences of subtle structural variations for metabolism is essential for adequate comparison of structurally related chemicals. Taken together, it is concluded that predictions in toxicological risk assessment should not be performed on the basis of structural analogy only but should include an analogy of metabolic pathways across compounds and species.

In vivo validation and physiologically based biokinetic modeling of the inhibition of SULT‐mediated estragole DNA adduct formation in the liver of male Sprague‐Dawley rats by the basil flavonoid nevadensin

SCOPE The present work investigates whether the previous observation that the basil flavonoid nevadensin is able to inhibit sulfotransferase (SULT)-mediated estragole DNA adduct formation in primary rat hepatocytes could be validated in vivo. METHODS AND RESULTS Estragole and nevadensin were co-administered orally to Sprague-Dawley rats, at a ratio reflecting their presence in basil. Moreover, previously developed physiologically based biokinetic (PBBK) models to study this inhibition in rat and in human liver were refined by including a submodel describing nevadensin kinetics. Nevadensin resulted in a significant 36% reduction in the levels of estragole DNA adducts formed in the liver of rats. The refined PBBK model predicts the formation of estragole DNA adducts in the liver of rat with less than twofold difference compared to in vivo data and suggests more potent inhibition in the liver of human compared to rat due to less efficient metabolism of nevadensin in human liver and intestine. CONCLUSION Given the role of the SULT-mediated DNA adduct formation in the hepatocarcinogenicity of estragole, the results of the present study suggest that the likelihood of bioactivation and subsequent adverse effects in rodent bioassays may be lower when estragole is dosed with nevadensin compared to dosing of pure estragole.

Lack of effect of furfural on unscheduled DNA synthesis in the in vivo rat and mouse hepatocyte DNA repair assays and in precision-cut human liver slices

The ability of furfural to induce unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) in hepatocytes of male and female B6C3F(1) mice and male F344 rats after in vivo administration and in vitro in precision-cut human liver slices has been studied. Preliminary toxicity studies established the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of furfural to be 320 and 50 mg/kg in the mouse and rat, respectively. Furfural was dosed by gavage at levels of 0 (control), 50, 175 and 320 mg/kg to male and female mice and 0, 5, 16.7 and 50 mg/kg to male rats. Hepatocytes were isolated by liver perfusion either 2-4 h or 12-16 h after treatment, cultured in medium containing [3H]thymidine for 4 h and assessed for UDS by grain counting of autoradiographs. Furfural treatment did not produce any statistically significant increase or any dose-related effects on UDS in mouse and rat hepatocytes either 2-4 h or 12-16 h after dosing. In contrast, UDS was markedly induced in mice and rats 2-4 h after treatment with 20 mg/kg dimethylnitrosamine and 12-16 h after treatment of mice and rats with 200 mg/kg o-aminoazotoluene and 50 mg/kg 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF), respectively. Precision-cut human liver slices from four donors were cultured for 24 h in medium containing [3H]thymidine and 0-10 mM furfural. Small increases in the net grain count (i.e. nuclear grain count less mean cytoplasmic grain count) observed with 2-10 mM furfural were not due to any increase in the nuclear grain count. Rather, it was the result of concentration-dependent decreases in the mean cytoplasmic grain counts and to a lesser extent in nuclear grain counts, due to furfural-induced cytotoxicity. In contrast, marked increases in UDS (both net grain and nuclear grain counts) were observed in human liver slices treated with 0.02 and 0.05 mM 2-AAF, 0.002 and 0.02 mM aflatoxin B(1) and 0.005 and 0.05 mM 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine. This study demonstrates that furfural does not induce UDS in the hepatocytes of male and female B6C3F(1) mice and male F344 rats after oral treatment at doses up to the MTDs. Moreover, human liver slice studies suggest that furfural is also not a genotoxic agent in human liver.

GRASr2 Evaluation of Aliphatic Acyclic and Alicyclic Terpenoid Tertiary Alcohols and Structurally Related Substances Used as Flavoring Ingredients

This publication is the 1st in a series of publications by the Expert Panel of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Assoc. summarizing the Panels 3rd re-evaluation of Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status referred to as the GRASr2 program. In 2011, the Panel initiated a comprehensive program to re-evaluate the safety of more than 2700 flavor ingredients that have previously met the criteria for GRAS status under conditions of intended use as flavor ingredients. Elements that are fundamental to the safety evaluation of flavor ingredients include exposure, structural analogy, metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and toxicology. Flavor ingredients are evaluated individually and in the context of the available scientific information on the group of structurally related substances. Scientific data relevant to the safety evaluation of the use of aliphatic acyclic and alicyclic terpenoid tertiary alcohols and structurally related substances as flavoring ingredients are evaluated. The group of aliphatic acyclic and alicyclic terpenoid tertiary alcohols and structurally related substances was reaffirmed as GRAS (GRASr2) based, in part, on their rapid absorption, metabolic detoxication, and excretion in humans and other animals; their low level of flavor use; the wide margins of safety between the conservative estimates of intake and the no-observed-adverse effect levels determined from subchronic studies and the lack of significant genotoxic and mutagenic potential.

Studies on the metabolism of the thiofurans furfuryl mercaptan and 2-methyl-3-furanthiol in rat liver

The metabolism of two thiofurans, namely furfuryl mercaptan (FM) and 2-methyl-3-furanthiol (MTF), to their corresponding methyl sulphide and methyl sulphoxide derivatives has been studied in male Sprague-Dawley rat hepatocytes and liver microsomes. Rat hepatocytes converted FM to furfuryl methyl sulphoxide (FMSO) and MTF to 2-methyl-3-(methylthio)furan sulphoxide (MMFSO). Liver microsomes catalysed the NADPH-dependent metabolism of furfuryl methyl sulphide (FMS) to FMSO and 2-methyl-3-(methylthio)furan sulphide (MMFS) to MMFSO. FMS and MMFS metabolism to their thiofuran methyl sulphoxide derivatives was induced by the treatment of rats with Aroclor 1254 and inhibited in liver microsomes treated with 1-aminobenzotriazole. The NADPH-dependent metabolism of FM to FMSO and MTF to MMFSO in liver microsomes was observed in the presence of S-adenosylmethionine. In summary, both thiofurans can be metabolised in rat liver to their thiofuran methyl sulphide derivatives which can be subsequently S-oxidised to form thiofuran methyl sulphoxides. FM and MTF appear to be substrates for rat hepatic microsomal thiol methyltransferase and the S-oxidation of FMS and MMFS appears to be primarily catalysed by cytochrome P450 forms.