Background:

Sudan I is an organic compound, typically classified as an azo dye.

Sudan I is a monoazo dye with the chemical formula of 1-phenylazo-2-naphthol. Sudan I can cause tumors in the liver or urinary bladder in mammals and is a potential mutagen and carcinogen for humans. Sudan I induces genotoxic effect in HepG2 cells and increases mutagenic and clastogenic effects in the MCL-5 cell lines compared to the AHH-1 cell line. In addition, Sudan I also gives positive results in Salmonella Typhimurium mutagenicity tests with S9 activation, a post-mitochondrial fraction prepared from the livers of rats[1].

[1]. Pan H, et al. Evaluation of impact of exposure of Sudan azo dyes and their metabolites on human intestinal bacteria. Anaerobe. 2012 Aug;18(4):445-53.