Cytological and cytochemical effects of sodium benzoate and gamma irradiation on human peripheral lymphocytes

In vitro studies of human peripheral lymphocytes were conducted to elucidate and compare the effects of a suspected chemical clastogen, sodium benzoate, widely used in the food industry as an antimicrobial food additive, to that of a well-known physical mutagen, gamma rays. Blood from ten normal donors, five males and five females, was collected and treated with various doses of the two agents independently and in combination during G0 or G1 phase. Induction of structural chromosomal aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and unscheduled DNA synthesis were used as parameters to monitor the effects of the two agents. Sodium benzoate at the same concentrations used in the food industry (0.05% and 0.10%) caused inhibition of mitosis and induced chromatid-type aberrations (gaps and breaks). The frequency of aberrations increased as the concentration of sodium benzoate increased. No increase in SCEs over the control level was observed as either concentration tested. The relative amount of DNA damage inflicted in the treated lymphocytes estimated as 3H-tritiated thymidine incorporation (unscheduled DNA synthesis) was highly significant. In contrast, blood irradiated with 300, 600, or 900 rad 60Co gamma rays produced chromatid and chromosome aberrations in cultured lymphocytes, dicentrics being the most frequent exchange event. The aberration yield was found to be dose-dependent and to fit the quadratic model. Unscheduled DNA synthesis as measured by lymphocyte 3H-TdR incorporation following gamma irradiation was highly significantly increased with the largest uptake occurring during the first hour of incubation. The combined treatment of gamma irradiation plus 0.05% sodium benzoate did not increase the aberration frequencies over the independent irradiation treatments and had no effect on SCEs frequencies