Toxicogenetics evaluation of the food colorings erythrosine and yellow quinoline and their products: electrochemical analysis and expressions of TP53 and COX-2 genes in liver cells

Abstract

The pigments and dyes are widely used in food industry, aiming to improve the presentation of the food to consumers. Natural and synthetic dyes are employed in the production of food and drink to compensate the loss of color during the manufacturing process and storage and also to assign color to those originally colorless. Currently, the use of synthetic dyes in food has been the target of several studies due to possible health risks and some were forbidden their use in many countries. However, investigations on the biological effects of food colorings and their products generated by biodegradation are limited, especially on the induction of genomic instability, such as induction of DNA damage and changes in gene expression. Due to the damage that synthetic dyes can cause to health, the goal of this research is to evaluate possible genomic instability induced by the dyes erythrosine and yellow quinoline in HepG2 cells (human hepatocellular carcinoma), which have similar morphology to the epithelium and the parenchyma of the human liver using the micronucleus test and comet assay, and to identify the expression profile of genes TP53 (tumor suppressor) and COX-2 enzyme (cyclooxygenase-2). In addition, we will analyze the products of oxidation and reduction of the dyes studied. Another aim is to elucidate the chemical structure of these compounds formed by HPLC-DAD and GC-MS and will be performed the photodynamic degradation of the dyes by UV light, visible and solar, in order to verify if the products will be more refractory to degradation, changing its potential to induce DNA damage. (AU)