Various Sodium Salts, Potassium Salts, a Calcium Salt and an Ammonium Salt Induced Ornithine Decarboxylase and Stimulated DNA Synthesis in Rat Stomach Mucosa

Abstract

Studies were made on the possible tumor‐promoting activities of various salts of food additives in the glandular stomach mucosa of F344 male rats after their administration by gastric intubation. Up to 100‐fold increases in ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in the pyloric mucosa of the stomach with maxima after 8 h were observed after administration of sodium acetate at doses of 3.68–13.6 mmol/kg body weight, sodium L‐ascorbate at doses of 8.55–17.1 mmol/kg body weight, Na₂CO₃ at doses of 4.73–14.2 mmol/kg body weight, sodium L‐glutamate at doses of 12.8–17.1 mmol/kg body weight, sodium sorbate at doses of 8.92–17.1 nmol/kg body weight and (NH₄)₂SO₄ at doses of 7.56–20.1 mmol/kg body weight. Increases of up to 100‐fold in ODC activity with maxima after 16 h were also observed after intubation of KC1 at doses of 10.1–22.0 mmol/kg body weight, K₂SO₃ at doses of 2.84–8.45 mmol/kg body weight, K₂S₂O₅ at doses of 2.25–6.75 mmol/kg body weight and CaCl₂ at doses of 2.0–4.08 mmol/kg body weight. Sodium acetate at a dose of 11.0 mmol/kg body weight, KCl at a dose of 20.1 mmol/kg body weight, K₂S₂O₅ at a dose of 5.40 mmol/kg body weight and CaCl₂at a dose of 3.4 mmol/kg body weight induced up to 10‐fold increase in DNA synthesis in the pyloric mucosa of the stomach with maxima after 16–24 h. These results suggest that these salts of food additives may, like NaCl, have tumor‐promoting activities in the pyloric mucosa of rat stomach.

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