ABSTRACT
The use of additives in different food products is growing up. It has attracted the attention towards the relation between the mutagenic potential of human diseases and food additives. Sunset yellow (SY) and sodium benzoate (NaB) are used as colorant and food additives worldwide. In the present study, genotoxic effects of different combinations of SY and NaB were assessed in vivo in female rats. Different combinations of SY and NaB were dissolved in water and administered daily to six animals groups for 12 weeks. Group 1 (control) received water, Group 2 received 5 mg/kg body weight (bw) SY plus 10 mg/kg bw NaB, group 3 received 5 mg/kg SY plus 100 mg/kg NaB, group 4 received 50 mg SY plus 100 mg/kg NaB, group 5 received 50 mg/kg SY plus 10 mg/kg NaB, group 6 received 200 mg/kg SY plus 750 mg/kg NaB, and group 7 received 20 mg/kg SY plus 75 mg/kg NaB. Genotoxicity investigations (Chromosomal aberration of bone marrow cells, Comet assay and DNA profile of liver cells) were carried out at the end of the experiment. Administration of 200 mg/kg SY plus 750 mg/kg NaB (group 6) induced the highest abnormalities percentage (1.5%) and showed structural abnormalities including end-to-end association, fragmentation, chromatid break, ring chromosome, and centric fusion break of chromosomes. Different combinations of SY and NaB induced an increase in the frequency of tailed nuclei (DNA damage) in liver cells. A concentration-dependent distinct DNA smear pattern was observed in the DNA isolated from liver cells of animals administered SY and NaB. In addition, administration of SY plus NaB resulted in an abnormal distribution of serum proteins. The results showed that the SY plus NaB could have genotoxic potential. With the increase applications of food additives, this study reported important data about screening the potential impacts.
Subject(s)
Azo Compounds/toxicity , DNA Damage , Food Coloring Agents/toxicity , Food Preservatives/toxicity , Sodium Benzoate/toxicity , Animals , Chromosome Aberrations/chemically induced , Comet Assay , Female , RatsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among patients is linked mainly to health care personnel. The Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is a cytotoxin that causes leukocyte lysis. Virulence of pvl-positive-MRSA has been attributed to its ability to express PVL toxin. METHODS: Swabs for detection of nasal carriage of pvl-positive MRSA among health care personnel at Fayoum University Hospital, Fayoum, Egypt, were collected from 223 health care personnel including 70 doctors (31.4%), 95 nurses (42.6%), 21 laboratory technicians (9.4%), and 37 housekeeping staff (16.6%). Detection of MRSA was done using conventional screening methods and confirmed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for mecA, or its homologue mecC, and pvl genes amplification. Re-swabbing after decolonization therapy was done to evaluate the efficacy of decolonization therapy. RESULTS: Fifty-one of 223 participants (22.9%) were colonized with S. aureus. This included 13.5% (30/223) colonized with MRSA and 2.2% (5/223) colonized with PVL-positive MRSA. Moreover, all MRSA isolates were negative for mecC genes. Decolonization therapy was successful in 80% of MRSA carriers including all pvl-positive MRSA carriers. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report on nasal carriage of pvl-positive MRSA among Egyptian health care personnel. High carriage rate of MRSA among health care personnel has been attributed mainly to poor hand hygiene compliance and non-judicious use of antibiotics. Improving compliance, reducing antibiotic overuse, screening for carriers, and decolonization are recommended strategies for reducing the spread of MRSA. Multiplex PCR could be used for confirmation of results obtained by conventional phenotypic methods.
