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

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, Na(2)CO(3) 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 (NH(4))(2)SO(4) 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, K(2)SO(3) at doses of 2.84–8.45 mmol/kg body weight, K(2)S(2)O(5) at doses of 2.25–6.75 mmol/kg body weight and CaCl(2) 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, K(2)S(2)O(5) at a dose of 5.40 mmol/kg body weight and CaCl(2)at 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.