Abstract: The research employing the techniques of Salmonella/microsome reversion assay and SCE analysis evaluates systematically the mutagenic potential of fourbrand household liquid detergents and three kinds of indegredients,LABS,Dispersol D and Alkanolamide,based on the effects of these surfactants on the STY test strains with the HisD3052 and HisG46 mutations and on the SCE formation of mouse bone marrow cells.These results indicate that,in the absence of metabolic activators,these four-brand detergents,and LABS and Dispersol D all can significantly reverse the mutation HisD3052 and HisG46 to histidine independence,compared with negative control.Akanolamide also can elicit the frameshift mutation HisD3052,a positive response,but a negative effect appears in the case of the missense mutation.Otherwise,although,when implemented with exogenous source of metabolic activation,detergent TL dose not exhibit positive response in STY bioassay for mutagenic activity,the other three kinds of detergents and their three main components,Dispersol D,Alkanolamide and LABS can induce a significant reproducible increase in number of the reversant colonies compared with negative control.Nevertheless,it is below certain doses of test materials,or an equivalent exposing to human beings during their house routine that all these test chemicals reproduce a negative response either with or without metabolic activation.The results of SCE analysis demonstrate that four-brand detergents,compared with the solvent control,can induce the SCE formation of mouse bone marrow cells.Their cytotoxicity is observed-that the rates of bone marrow cell proliferation decrease after oral administration of high-dose detergents,and highest doses of all these chemicals tested do give an indication of toxicity as evidenced by the presence of pin-point abnormal colonies on the plates,or the reduction in the spontaneous reversion rate.In addition,the possible relationship between different mutagenic responses is disscussed.