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Biochemical and molecular evaluation of oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage in fruit fly exposed to carmoisine

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Emine Toraman at Science
Emine Toraman
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Background In today’s world, appearance is an important factor in almost all areas of our lives. Therefore, it has become common to use dyes to color foods to make them look appetizing and visually appealing. However, food additives have negative effects on biochemical processes in cells at both high and low doses. Methods and results This study investigated the effect of carmoisine, a commonly used food coloring, on oxidative stress and damage parameters in Drosophila melanogaster in terms of both enzymatic and gene expression. The change in mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN), a marker of oxidative stress, was also examined. When the data obtained were analyzed, it was observed that carmoisine caused a significant decrease in GSH levels depending on the increase in dose. SOD, CAT, GPx, and AChE enzyme activities and gene expression levels were also found to be significantly decreased. All groups also showed a significant decrease in mtDNA-CN. The effect of carmoisine on Drosophila melanogaster morphology was also investigated in our study. However, no significant change was observed in terms of morphological development in any group. Conclusions When all the findings were evaluated together, it was observed that carmoisin triggered oxidative stress and these effects became more risky at high doses. Therefore, we believe that the consumer should be made more aware of the side effects of azo dyes in food and that the type and concentration of each substance added to food should be specified.
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Molecular Biology Reports (2024) 51:685
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-024-09616-0
preserves, breadcrumbs, cheesecake mixes, and jellies [3].
Legal approvals and regulations for using it in food vary by
country. For example, the European Union allows the use of
carmoisin with an acceptable daily intake (ADI), while the
United States and Japan have banned it completely [4]. The
presence of food coloring, especially in candies and sweets,
also makes children more susceptible as they consume
higher amounts than recommended by ocial bodies such
as EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) or FDA (United
States Food and Drug Administration) [5].
Since food dyes are azo food colorants, they can be
metabolized by intestinal ora to aromatic amines to form
reactive oxygen species (ROS). This leads to increased oxi-
dative stress by increasing the levels of ROS such as super-
oxide anion, hydroxyl radical, and H2O2 [3]. Azo dyes have
been shown to be mutagenic, cytotoxic, neurotoxic, and,
genotoxic in many studies [6–11]. Although the acceptable
daily intake (ADI) for the use of food colorants is speci-
ed by regulations, the risk of accumulation in the body
in long-term use raises a serious concern [11]. Our study
Introduction
Food additives, whether articial or natural food ingredi-
ents, have an essential role to play in meeting the needs of
population growth. Food coloring is an indispensable part
of the food industry as it gives an aesthetic appearance
and appeal to foods that consumers desire. Azo dyestus
have a wide range of applications in textiles, food, leather,
paper, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics [1]. Carmoisine,
also called Azorubine, Food Red 3, Brillant carmoisine O,
Acid Red 14, or CI 14,720, is a synthetic red food color-
ing [2]. Carmoisine blancmange, also known by the code
E122, is used to prepare many foods such as jams, yogurts,
Emine Toraman
emine.toraman@atauni.edu.tr
1 Science Faculty, Department of Molecular Biology and
Genetics, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Türkiye
25240, Turkey
Abstract
Background In today’s world, appearance is an important factor in almost all areas of our lives. Therefore, it has become
common to use dyes to color foods to make them look appetizing and visually appealing. However, food additives have
negative eects on biochemical processes in cells at both high and low doses.
Methods and results This study investigated the eect of carmoisine, a commonly used food coloring, on oxidative stress
and damage parameters in Drosophila melanogaster in terms of both enzymatic and gene expression. The change in mito-
chondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN), a marker of oxidative stress, was also examined. When the data obtained were
analyzed, it was observed that carmoisine caused a signicant decrease in GSH levels depending on the increase in dose.
SOD, CAT, GPx, and AChE enzyme activities and gene expression levels were also found to be signicantly decreased. All
groups also showed a signicant decrease in mtDNA-CN. The eect of carmoisine on Drosophila melanogaster morphology
was also investigated in our study. However, no signicant change was observed in terms of morphological development in
any group.
Conclusions When all the ndings were evaluated together, it was observed that carmoisin triggered oxidative stress and
these eects became more risky at high doses. Therefore, we believe that the consumer should be made more aware of the
side eects of azo dyes in food and that the type and concentration of each substance added to food should be specied.
Keywords Carmoisine · E122 · Oxidative stress · Drosophila melanogaster · Mitochondrial DNA
Received: 23 January 2024 / Accepted: 6 May 2024
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024
Biochemical and molecular evaluation of oxidative stress and
mitochondrial damage in fruit y exposed to carmoisine
EmineToraman1
1 3
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