Antimutagenic effects of natural phenolic compounds in beans

Polyphenols in fruits, vegetables (e.g., flavonols like quercetin) and tea (e.g., catechins such as epigallocatechin gallate) are good antioxidants with antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties. In the present study, the Salmonella typhimurium tester strain YG1024 was used in the plate-incorporation test to examine the antimutagenic effect of phenolic compounds, extracted from common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), on 1-NP and Ba]P mutagenicity. Dose-response curves for 1-NP and Ba]P were obtained; the number of net revertants/plate at the peak mutagenic dosage were 880 for 1-NP and 490 for Ba]P. For the antimutagenicity studies doses of 0.1 microg/plate and 2 microg/plate for 1-NP and Ba]P, respectively, were chosen. We obtained a dose-response curve of ellagic acid (EA) against Ba]P and 1-NP mutagenicity. To test the bean extract, a dose of 300 microg/plate of EA was chosen as the antimutagenic control. The EA and bean extracts were not toxic to the bacteria at the concentrations tested. The inhibitory effects of the bean extracts and EA against Ba]P mutagenicity were dose-dependent. The percentages of inhibition produced against Ba]P (2 microg/plate) using 300 microg/plate of EA and for the extracts 500 microg equivalent catechin/plate were 82%, 83%, 81% and 83% for EA, water extract, water/methanol extract and methanol extract, respectively. However, for 1-NP mutagenicity, only the methanolic extract from beans showed an inhibitory effect. These results suggest that common beans, as other legumes, can function as health-promoting foods.