Erythrosine and DNA damage in human liver cells
What it found
In human liver cells grown in the lab, erythrosine damaged DNA at the two highest concentrations tested and increased micronuclei at six of seven concentrations.
The authors say the dye should be used with caution.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
DNA breaks in cells
In the comet assay, only the two highest concentrations of erythrosine, 50.0 and 70.0 micrograms per millilitre, caused significantly more DNA damage than the control. Lower concentrations did not.
Micronuclei in cells
In the micronucleus test, six of the seven concentrations, from 0.2 to 70.0 micrograms per millilitre, raised the frequency of micronuclei compared with the control. Only the lowest concentration, 0.1 micrograms per millilitre, did not.
Type of DNA damage
The pattern of results suggests the damage comes from an aneugenic process, meaning it affects how chromosomes separate, rather than from direct chromosome breaks. The authors say this because the micronucleus test was positive at more concentrations than the comet assay.
Other chromosome markers
Frequencies of nucleoplasmic bridges and nuclear buds were low and not significantly different from the control. The nuclear division index was also similar across all groups.
Cell viability
Cell viability stayed at or above 80% for all concentrations tested, based on the trypan blue exclusion method.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that erythrosine B can damage DNA and cause mutations in human liver cells, even at some low concentrations.
- They advise that although the dye is used in food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, it should be used with caution because it damages DNA structure.
How it was done
The authors note that erythrosine is widely used in foods, drugs and cosmetics, and that earlier studies gave conflicting results on whether it damages DNA. They wanted to test it directly in human liver cells.
They treated HepG2 human liver cells with seven concentrations of erythrosine B, from 0.1 to 70.0 micrograms per millilitre, and ran two tests: the comet assay after 4 hours and the micronucleus assay after 20 hours. Each test was repeated three times.
What it can’t tell you
- These are lab tests on human liver cells, not studies in people. They cannot show what happens when someone eats erythrosine in food.
- The cells were exposed directly to the dye for a short time, so the results may not reflect real-life exposure through diet.
The paper
- Title
- Genotoxic and mutagenic effects of erythrosine B, a xanthene food dye, on HepG2 cells
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Chequer FM, Venâncio VP, Bianchi ML, Antunes LM (2012). Genotoxic and mutagenic effects of erythrosine B, a xanthene food dye, on HepG2 cells. Food and chemical toxicology. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2012.07.042Free full textPubMed 22847138DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error