Abstract

The present study has been carried out to investigate the possible mutagenic effects of the synthetic food color tartrazine on mitosis, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) contents of Allium cepa roots and protein banding pattern of A. cepa seeds. The obtained results indicated that the synthetic food color tartrazine (E102) had the ability to cause different mitotic changes varying from reduction in mitotic index to the production of a large number of mitotic abnormalities. These changes appeared in varying degrees depending on the applied concentration and duration of treatment. The types of abnormalities produced were laggards, bridges, stickiness, C-metaphase and disturbed phases as well as micronuclei. The amounts of both DNA and RNA were generally decreased with increasing of most concentrations and time of treatment. At electrophoretic level, E102 induced alternations in the protein banding pattern of A. cepa seeds as compared with the control. These alternations were expressed as disappearance of some characteristic bands, appearance of new bands, and changes in band intensities. The administration of vitamin C was found to be very helpful in minimizing the toxic effects induced by E102.

Key words: Allium cepa, tartrazine, chromosome aberration, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) content, protein banding patterns, vitamin C.