Protective action of ascorbic acid against mutagenicity of aminopyrine plus nitrite.

: Mutagenicity of aminopyrine and of aminopyrine plus nitrite was tested by the micronucleus test in bone marrow of mice and by host mediated mutagenicity assay with mice as host animals and S. typhimurium strain G 46. In parallel the possibility of the protective action of ascorbic acid was studied. Aminopyrine at the dose of 90 mg/kg po when administered to mice together with potassium nitrite induced a significant increase in the frequency of micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes and proved to be mutagenic for a Salmonella strain. In both systems mutagenicity of the combination of aminopyrine at this dose plus nitrite was abolished completely by ascorbic acid (373 or 622 mg/kg po). Ascorbic acid neither induced a significant increase in the frequency of micronuclei nor was mutagenic for the strain G 46. A formulation of aminopyrine with ascorbic acid is proposed.