EVALUATION OF THE GENOTOXIC POTENTIALS OF SUNFLOWER LECITHIN, XANTHAN GUM, AND MALIC ACID ON HUMAN PERIPHERAL LYMPHOCYTES IN VITRO
Abstract
Food additives are substances used to preserve or improve the safety, freshness, flavor, texture, or appearance of food. As the consumption of processed foods has increased, so has the consumption of food additives. However, whether food additives have a negative impact on human health is a matter of debate. In this study, the potential genotoxicity of sunflower lecithin, malic acid, and xanthan gum, used as food additives, on human peripheral lymphocytes was determined using the micronucleus test. Preliminary tests conducted in this study investigated the potential genotoxic effects of different concentrations of sunflower lecithin (v/v - 1.2‰, 1.8‰, 2.7‰, 4.05‰, 5.4‰, 7.2‰), xanthan gum (500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000, and 4500 μg/ml), and malic acid (31.25, 62.50, 125, 250, 375, and 500 μg/ml). Based on the findings, the studied food additives exhibited statistically significant genotoxic effects (P<0.05) at elevated concentrations. Specifically, significant increases in micronucleus frequency were initiated at 4.05‰ (v/v) for sunflower lecithin, 2000 μg/ml for xanthan gum, and 250 μg/ml for malic acid compared to the control groups, reaching the highest genotoxic responses at the maximum tested concentrations.
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Food Packaging, Preservation and Processing, Food Sciences (Other)
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Doğukan Eroğlu
This is me
0009-0009-7725-6614
Türkiye
Selçuk Çeker
*
0000-0002-2795-8863
Türkiye
Early Pub Date
October 13, 2026
Publication Date
October 13, 2026
Submission Date
March 24, 2026
Acceptance Date
August 7, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 51 Number: 5