Metabolic activation by cytochrome P-450 of glutamic acid pyrolysis products, 2-amino-6-methyldipyrido(1,2-a:3',2'-d)imidazole (Glu-P-1) and 2-amino-dipyrido(1,2,-a:3',2'-d)imidazole (Glu-P-2), to mutagenic metabolites was studied using Salmonella typhimurium TA98 as a tester strain. Cytochrome P-450, NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and NADPH were essential requirements for the activation of these compounds. Of the four forms of cytochrome P-450 examined, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) P-448 and 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) P-448 purified from liver microsomes of rats treated with a PCB mixture and MC, respectively, showed high activity in the activation of both Glu-P-1 and Glu-P-2. The presence of three metabolites from Glu-P-1 or Glu-P-2 was demonstrated by high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis. Among the metabolites of Glu-P-1, two metabolites were mutagenic without any further enzymatic activation. In accordance with the results of a mutation assay, PCB P-448 also exhibited higher activity to form the major mutagenic metabolite of Glu-P-1. The major active metabolite of Glu-P-1 was characterized as N-hydroxy-Glu-P-1 by chemical analysis using oxidizing and reducing reagents and by mass spectrometry.