Toxic Effects of Chronic Feeding with Food Azo Dyes on Drosophila melanogaster Oregon R

Artificial azo dyes are widely used as coloring agents for foodstuffs, drugs and cosmetics. In this study, the toxic effect of four different synthetic food dyes (Ponceau 4R, Sunset Yellow, Amaranth, Tartrazine) on 72±4h larvae of Oregon (R) wild type of Drosophila melanogaster were investigated. In addition, depending on chronic feeding, the life span of the flies determined. For this purpose, six different concentrations of the food dyes (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mg mL^-1) were selected by preliminary studies to determine the LD100 values.The effects of the food dyes on longevity were studied separately in female and male populations. It was determined that the maximum mean life span of the female and male D. melanogaster populations decreased with increasing concentrations of food dyes. Based on the results obtained from the larval mortality and life span experiments, the order of toxicity for food dyes was Tartrazine Amaranth Sunset Yellow ≥ Ponceau 4R.