For definition of Groups, see Preamble Evaluation.
VOL.: 51 (1991) (p. 443)
Chem. Abstr. Name: 2-Oxopropanal
Methylglyoxal is present in many foods and drinks, including coffee, and is produced during glycolysis and sugar fermentation. It is produced by many strains of bacteria present in the intestinal tract. It is also present in tobacco smoke.
No adequate study was available for the evaluation of methylglyoxal.
No data were available to the Working Group.
Methylglyoxal induced sister chromatid exchange, chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei in cultured human cells. It induced sister chromatid exchange and gene mutations in cultured mammalian cells. In yeast, it increased the frequencies of reverse mutations and of mitotic gene conversion. In prokaryotes, methylglyoxal was mutagenic in the absence of an exogenous metabolic system. Methylglyoxal forms adducts with guanine bases and nucleic acids.
There are no data on the carcinogenicity in humans of methylglyoxal.
There is inadequate evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of methylglyoxal.
Methylglyoxal is not classifiable as to its carcinogencity to humans (Group 3).
For definition of the italicized terms, see Preamble Evaluation.
Last updated: 17 November 1997
See Also: Toxicological Abbreviations