title: Chemical composition and genotoxic activity of petroleum derivatives collected in two working environments.
abstract: Pitch and bitumen, two complex petroleum derivative mixtures, were studied for both their chemical composition and their mutagenic/DNA damaging activity. While bitumen revealed no genotoxic effect and low polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentration, petroleum pitch showed a high concentration of mutagenic/carcinogenic PAHs, and also an elevated mutagenic activity when assayed by the Ames test, in the presence of postmitochondrial rat liver fractions. The in vitro mutagenic activity was detectable as frameshift mutation by assaying the pitch both as an in toto mixture and after HPLC fractionation, the most polar fractions being the most active. In contrast, both derivatives showed no in vivo DNA damage in rat liver, using the DNA alkaline elution technique and the fluorometric assay of DNA unwinding.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Igiene, Universitá di Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pasquini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taningher
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monarca
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pala
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Angeli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000032:analysis; D005591:Chemical Fractionation; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004249:DNA Damage; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D008930:Mitochondria, Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D002273:Carcinogens; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D010578:Petroleum; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds; C006647:asphalt