prgclb (03/24/83)
Time to play armchair chemist: So BHA and BHT may be "good guys" after all when it comes to cancer prevention. Makes some sense. These chemicals are "free radical acceptors", going after those nasty atoms with unpaired electrons that cause rancidity in food. Some scientists also consider free radicals to be prime cancer-causers -- so, go to it, BHA and BHT! Carl Blesch Bell Labs - Naperville, Ill. IH 2A-159, (312) 979-3360 ihuxm!prgclb
djo (03/24/83)
I like the quote from the article that says, "...specific agents that inhibit carcinogen-induced cancers...", I didn't know that one could induce cancer without (gulp) carcinogens! They probably do inhibit other forms of cancer but that is proboably due to the fact that the form of cancer from bha and bht is so overwhelming that it suppresses other forms at the same time!!! Also, the level of these components ingested by humans everyday is probably many times higher than the levels used in tests as an anti-carcinogen so the end result is that the other cancers are replaced by preservatives cancer.... big (you fill in the blank) deal... I could speculate on the data (whether I have it or not) all day, but I'd rather go eat (a non-preservative non-additive) lunch.
djo (03/25/83)
BHA and BHT do indeed end a radical chain process that leads to food spoiling but they terminate or "quench" this process by becoming nothing other than radicals themselves. Denise O'Jibway - Chemistry Dept - UCSD
mjs (03/26/83)
Hey, let's not get political here! Some of my best friends are radicals!
Martin Shannon, Jr.
Phone: (201) 582-3199
Internet: mjs@mhb5b.uucp
UUCP: {allegra,rabbit,alice,mhb5b,mhb5c}!mjs
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Murray Hill, NJ 07974