Croton lechleri Müll. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae) stem bark essential oil as possible mutagen-protective food ingredient against heterocyclic amines from cooked food

► Cytotoxicity threshold of Croton lechleri e.o. on Ames Salmonella typhimurium tester strains was determined. ► HCAs are toxic also as direct mutagens (without S9). ► HCAs (with S9) showed lower toxic concentration than that reported in the literature. ► C. lechleri e.o. showed anti-mutagenic activity against HCAs with and without S9. ► C. lechleri e.o. showed cytotoxic activity against human LoVo and HepG2 cell lines.