2017-2018 Faculty Research Grants

Ryan Hayes (Chemistry) and Brian Wong (Biology)

Mutagenicity Assessment of Burned Plant Amino Acids and Antimugenic/Anticarcinogenic Effects of Chinese Medicinal Herbs

Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) are formed through an unknown mechanism which combines creatine with various amino acids to form cyclic nitrogen structures with mutagenic properties. Substantial research has been done on HCA formation in meat products where creatine is present. Previous research by Knize et. al and our research group here at Andrews University, shows that arginine can substitute for creatine and form potentially mutagenic HCAs. Arginine is a prominent amino acid found in many soy-based products which leads to speculation that over-cooked soy and other proteinaceous plant-based products could contain HCAs. With many procedures and equipment in place, we are carefully examining the extracts of arginine that have been burned with phenylalanine to find potential mutagenic compounds using the Ames test. Any mutagenic compounds will be carefully purified and isolated for structural analysis via mass and nuclear-magnetic spectroscopies. The mutagenic compounds will be characterized for their mechanism of mutagenicity while also looking for natural products (e.g. extracts from Chinese Medicinal herb, Scutellaria barbata and Oldenlandia diffusa) that can reduce or eliminate the harmful effects of HCAs via Ames Assay and other assays of apoptosis (programed cell death). These extraction and analysis procedures will be extended to other burned arginine/amino acid combinations to scan for all possible mutagens in the new class of arginine-HCAs.