Abstract
The anti-mutagenic effect of Orostachys japonicus (OJ) toward aflatoxin (AFB$_{1}$) and N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) in the Salmonella assay system was studied. The methanol extract of OJ inhibited the mutagenicity induced by AFB$_{1}$ about 97% when 5% of the extract added to the system. Butanol fraction from the methanol extract was the most effective against AFB$_{1}$. However, other fractions of hexane, chloroform, and ethylacetate also showed considerable antimutagenic activity against AFB$_{1}$. Several identified compounds from the fractions of OJ exhibited anti-mutagenic effect. $\beta$-Sitosterol, astragalin and kaempferol-3-rhamnosyl-7-glucoside were selected from the compounds, and these compounds inhibited the mutagenicity dose-dependently. These 3 compounds also decreased the mutagenicity induced by MNNG. From these results, it is suggested that the major compounds such as triterpene, sterol and flavonoid in the OJ were responsible for the inhibition of the AFB$_{1}$ and MNNG-induced mutagenicities.
