Development and Research into Functional Foods from Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Powder with Sialic Acid as Its Index Component - III. Bacterial Reverse Mutation Testing of Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Powder Containing Normal Concentration of Sialic Acid (7%) with Enzyme Separation Method -

The ultimate research goal of the current study was a development of hydrolyzed whey protein powder (7%-GNANA) manufactured with normal content of sialic acid, a marker compound, that is naturally occurring at 7% concentration in GMP obtained from the milk protein. GMP is a safe food, used worldwide in infant and baby foods, etc. The test substance was prepared using (7% sialic acid containing) GMP as a raw material, and then using alcalase, an enzyme approved as a food additive, after separation of sialic acid with 100% efficiency and 7%-GNANA (containing 7% sialic acid and protein; product name: HELICOBACTROL-7) provided by MEDINUTROL Inc. (Korea). Bacterial reverse mutation (Ames) test was conducted in accordance with GLP Guideline using the test substance specified above. To identify its mutagenic potential against microorganisms, histidine auxotrophic strains of Salmonella Typhimurium, TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537, and tryptophan auxotrophic strain of Escherichia coli, WP2uvrA, were used. The bacterial reverse mutation (Ames) test was performed by dividing the test substances into five different concentration groups (0, 61.7, 185, 556, 1,670, 5,000 μg/plate). Results of this experiment did not reveal repetitive increase of colony generating values or positive criteria for reverse mutagenicity for any concentration of test substances in any of the five strains, regardless of the presence of a metabolic activation system, and no dose-dependency was identified. In conclusion, the safety of 7%-GNANA test substance was verified by bacterial reverse mutation test conducted before registration of 7%-GNANA as a food additive.