Identification of new mutagenic heterocyclic amines and quantification of known heterocyclic amines.

2-amino-1-methyl-6-(4-hydroxyphenyl)imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (4'-OH-PhIP) was mutagenic, inducing 180 revertants of Salmonella typhimurium TA98 per 100 micrograms with S9 mix and was formed by heating a mixture of creatine, tyrosine and glucose. It was detected in broiled beef at a level of 21.0 ng per g of broiled beef, which is comparable to the level of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP). Two new mutagens were isolated from bacteriological-grade beef extract using a new Salmonella tester strain, YG1024, which has a much higher O-acetyltransferase level than TA98. These mutagens were identified as 2-amino-4-hydroxymethyl-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-g]quinoxaline (4-CH2OH-8-MeIQx) and 2-amino-1,7,9-trimethylimidazo[4,5-g]quinoxaline(7,9-DiMeIgQx++ +). The amounts of these mutagenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs) in beef extract were 6.0 ng and 53 ng per g of beef extract, respectively. 4-CH2OH-8-MeIQx induced 326,000 revertants of YG1024 and 99,000 revertants of TA98 per microgram with S9 mix, while 7,9-DiMeIgQx induced 13,800 and 670 revertants of YG1024 and TA98, respectively, per microgram in the presence of S9 mix. The levels of nine previously reported HCAs in cooked meats and fish and in beef extract were determined quantitatively. The level of PhIP was highest (0.56 approximately 69.2 ng/g), followed by that of 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx) (0.64 approximately 6.44 ng/g), and those of other HCAs were 0.03 approximately 2.50 ng/g. Mainstream smoke condensates of five Japanese brands of cigarettes contained four HCAs, 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1), 3-amino-1-methyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-2), 2-amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (A alpha C) and 2-amino-3-methyl-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (MeA alpha C), at levels of 0.02 approximately 13.5 ng per cigarette and sidestream smoke condensates of two brands of cigarettes contained these HCAs at levels of 0.14 approximately 2.72 ng per cigarette. PhIP was not detected in any sample of mainstream or sidestream smoke condensate.