Tartrazine changed gene activity in mice organs
What it found
In mice, tartrazine at the acceptable daily intake for people turned up the activity of several DNMT and HDAC genes in the lungs, liver, kidneys and spleen.
These genes are involved in cancer and brain conditions.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
DNMT genes activated
Tartrazine raised the activity of DNMT1 and DNMT3a in the spleen, liver, lungs and kidneys of mice after both 30 and 90 days. DNMT3b was mostly unchanged, except in the spleen after 90 days.
HDAC genes activated
HDAC2, HDAC3 and HDAC8 activity increased in most organs tested after tartrazine exposure. HDAC8 rose in the spleen, liver and lungs at both time points, and in the kidneys only after 90 days.
Longer exposure, stronger effect
Going from 30 to 90 days of tartrazine led to higher activity of several genes, including DNMT1 in the liver and kidneys and HDAC2 in the spleen.
Heated feed changed pattern
When the feed was baked at 160 °C for 30 minutes, the gene activity patterns differed from feed prepared at room temperature. For example, HDAC8 did not change significantly with heated feed.
All organs affected
The authors report that tartrazine affected all the genes tested in the HDAC and DNMT families, and all organs were affected, though the strongest response varied by organ, gene and time point.
What the authors conclude
“The present study shows that tartrazine can cause a change in the gene expressions of DNMT1 , DNMT3a , DNMT3b , HDAC2 , HDAC3 , and HDAC8 over a long period even at a dose at the ADI level in different organs.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say this is the first study to investigate the effects of oral tartrazine on DNMT and HDAC genes over a long period at the recommended intake dose.
- They hypothesize that tartrazine consumption may contribute to cell proliferation and may even increase the likelihood of carcinogenesis.
- They advise that it is of great importance to investigate the direct effect of tartrazine on brain function and to consider replacing artificial mono-azo dyes with natural food dyes.
How it was done
The authors say the health impact of synthetic food colorants is still not fully mapped, and the effect of everyday low doses is rarely studied. They wanted to see whether tartrazine at the acceptable daily intake affects genes tied to cancer and neurological disorders.
They fed 48 male and 48 female NMRI mice tartrazine at a dose equal to the human acceptable daily intake (7.5 mg/kg/day) for 30 or 90 days, with some feed baked at 160 °C for 30 minutes. They then measured the activity of DNMT1, DNMT3a, DNMT3b, HDAC2, HDAC3 and HDAC8 in the lungs, liver, kidneys and spleen.
What it can’t tell you
- These are animal studies. They can't show what happens in people.
- The study measured gene activity, not cancer or brain disorders themselves.
- It is not known whether the same gene changes would occur in people eating tartrazine at the acceptable daily intake.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by University of Pécs Medical School (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- University of Pécs, Hungary
The paper
- Title
- Tartrazine Modifies the Activity of DNMT and HDAC Genes-Is This a Link between Cancer and Neurological Disorders?
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Zand A, Enkhbilguun S, Macharia JM, Budán F, Gyöngyi Z, Varjas T (2023). Tartrazine Modifies the Activity of DNMT and HDAC Genes-Is This a Link between Cancer and Neurological Disorders?. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu15132946Free full textPubMed 37447272DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error