Relationship between the antitoxic effect of butylhydroxytoluene and the synthesis of macromolecules in the presence of diethylnitrosamine

Experiments into the antitoxic effects of butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) were conducted on liver cell cultures of white male rats after treatment with BHT and diethylnitrosamine (DENA) and decapitation. The livers were homogenized and the specific radioactivity of DNA and proteins determined as well as the RNA content after chemical fractionation. Tritium-labelled thymidine was taken as the precursor for DNA biosynthesis and carbon 14-labelled leucine as the precursor for protein biosynthesis. The markers were injected 2 hours before slaughter and radioactivity determined by scintillation counting. Results show that pretreatment of the animals with BHT increases the metabolism of DENA in the microsomatic enzyme system via denitrosation by a factor of 6. This is considered as the route for the detoxification of the carcinogen. By thus affecting the metabolism of the carcinogen, pretreatment with BHT evidently leads to nontoxic metabolites. This protects the protein-synthesizing and genetic apparatus from degradation.