Genotoxicity tests on D-tagatose.

d-Tagatose is a low-calorie sweetener that tastes like sucrose. Its genotoxic potential was examined in five standard assays: the AmesSalmonella typhimuriumreverse mutation assay, theEscherichia coli/mammalian microsome assay, a chromosomal aberration assay in Chinese hamster ovary cells, a mouse lymphoma forward mutation assay, and anin vivomouse micronucleus assay.d-Tagatose was not found to increase the number of revertants per plate relative to vehicle controls in either theS. typhimuriumtester strains or the WP2uvrA− tester strain with or without metabolic activation at doses up to 5000 μg/plate. No significant increase in Chinese hamster ovary cells with chromosomal aberrations was observed at concentrations up to 5000 μg/ml with or without metabolic activation.d-Tagatose was not found to increase the mutant frequency in mouse lymphoma L5178Y cells with or without metabolic activation up to concentrations of 5000 μg/ml.d-Tagatose caused no significant increase in micronuclei in bone marrow polychromatic erythrocytes at doses up to 5000 mg/kg.d-Tagatose was not found to be genotoxic under the conditions of any of the assays described above.