**5. Conclusion**

The biological action of bamboo charcoal and vinegars is evaluated by *Salmonella* mutagenesis assay, as a safety evaluation and antimutagenic activity. The charcoal can be expected to be similar to the materials of edible natural colorants and/or natural drying agents, because the water activity of charcoal is below 6.0, the Pb base of charcoal is below 40 ppm, and the bamboo charcoals have no toxicity and mutagenicity toward *Salmonella typhimurium* TA98 and TA100. For the bamboo vinegars, the main percent content of the phenol compounds for bamboo vinegars is phenol (5.93–16.60%) and 2-methoxy-phenol (8.27–16.39%). The diluting percent content of vinegars is lower than 20.00% or less with S9 mix and 33.33% or less without S9 mix in cytotoxicity and mutagenicity toward *Salmonella typhimurium* TA98 and TA100 because the rest of the bacterium (Survival) these percent contents is higher than 80% of the control group (Blank), and the mutagenicity ratio (MR) is less than for the control group by more than two times. The diluting percent content of vinegars of 20.00% or less expressed the amount-dependent inhibitory effect against both the mutagenicity of 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide (NQNO) with 1 μg/plate and aflatoxin B1 (AFB<sup>1</sup> ) with 5 μg/plate in *Salmonella typhimurium* TA98 and TA100. It is suggested that bamboo vinegars with a diluting percent content to the least extent of 20.00% or less have no cytotoxicity and mutagenicity, and their antimutagenic activity with NQNO and AFB<sup>1</sup> is effective. The bamboo vinegars in the extent of this report can be as the reference of functional additives, due to their prospective applications in human care, such as in the portion of drinks or/and food.
