Acrolein-Trapping Mechanism of Theophylline in Green Tea, Coffee, and Cocoa: Speedy and Successful

Synephrine, as a scavenger and promoter, cooperates with hesperidin to reduce acrolein levels

Acrolein (ACR) is a harmful and active aldehyde produced in processed food that endangers foods safety. We undertook this work to explore the ACR-trapping ability of hesperidin (HES) and synephrine (SYN) from the diet. After comparing their ACR-trapping abilities, the reaction pathways of HES and SNY were analyzed using LC-MS/MS, and two adducts (HES-ACR-1 and SNY-2ACR) were synthesized, and their structures were identified by NMR. Then, we not only evaluated the synergistic trapping effects of HES and SNY on ACR in the model through the Chou-Talalay method but verified it in the processing of roasted duck wings and cookies. Furthermore, based on the quantitative analysis of the ACR-adducts of HES and SNY, we demonstrated that SYN, as a promoter, could greatly improve the ACR-capturing ability of HES by forming more adducts (3-fold). Our findings could serve as a guide for using SNY and HES as new scavengers in food processing.

Elimination of Acrolein by Disodium 5'-Guanylate or Disodium 5'-Inosinate at High Temperature and Its Application in Roasted Pork Patty

Acrolein (ACR) is a highly active, simple unsaturated aldehyde found in various high-temperature processed foods. Its long-term accumulation in the human body increases the risk of chronic diseases. Animal and plant foodstuffs are rich in disodium 5'-guanylate (GMP) and disodium 5'-inosinate (IMP), which are authorized flavor enhancers. Herein, we used liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry to explore the reaction-active kinetics and pathway of the interaction between GMP/IMP and ACR and validated it in roasted pork patties. Our results suggested that GMP and IMP could efficiently eliminate ACR by forming ACR adducts (GMP-ACR, IMP-ACR). In addition, IMP exhibited a higher reaction rate, whereas GMP had a good trapping capacity at a later stage. As carriers of GMP and IMP, dried mushrooms and shrimp exhibited an effective ACR-trapping ability in the ACR model and roasted pork patty individually and in combination. Adding 10% of dried mushroom or shrimp alone or 5% of dried mushroom and shrimp in combination eliminated up to 53.9%, 55.8%, and 55.2% ACR in a roasted pork patty, respectively. This study proposed a novel strategy to eliminate the generation of ACR in roasted pork patties by adding foodstuffs rich in GMP and IMP.

Origin and Fate of Acrolein in Foods

Acrolein is a highly toxic agent that may promote the occurrence and development of various diseases. Acrolein is pervasive in all kinds of foods, and dietary intake is one of the main routes of human exposure to acrolein. Considering that acrolein is substantially eliminated after its formation during food processing and re-exposed in the human body after ingestion and metabolism, the origin and fate of acrolein must be traced in food. Focusing on molecular mechanisms, this review introduces the formation of acrolein in food and summarises both in vitro and in vivo fates of acrolein based on its interactions with small molecules and biomacromolecules. Future investigation of acrolein from different perspectives is also discussed.

A systematic comparison of the extraction and adsorption of theophylline by new amino acid ester-based ionic liquids

The selective extraction and adsorption of theophylline with a new amino acid ester-based ionic liquid was demonstrated, and a systematic comparison was made for future applications.

Trapping Acrolein by Theophylline/Caffeine and Their Metabolites from Green Tea and Coffee in Mice and Humans

Acrolein (ACR) is found exogenously as a widespread environmental pollutant and endogenously, where it is thought to be involved as a pathogenic factor in the progression of many pathological conditions. Eliminating ACR by dietary-active substances has been found to be one potential strategy to prevent ACR-associated chronic diseases. This study first compared the scavenging ACR efficacy of four purine alkaloids, theophylline (TP), paraxanthine (PXT), theobromine (TB), and caffeine (CAF), and then, TP, CAF, and their metabolites were investigated for their ability to trap ACR in vivo. Our results indicated that TP, which possesses an -NH moiety at the N-7 position, exhibits the best ACR-trapping capacity in vitro, while CAF has a slight ability to trap ACR due to the substitutions by -CH₃ at the N-1, N-3, and N-7 positions. After oral administration of TP or CAF, the ACR adducts of TP and the metabolites of TP or CAF (e.g., mono- and di-ACR-TP, mono-ACR-1,3-DMU, and mono-ACR-1-MU) were detected in urinary samples obtained from both TP- and CAF-treated mouse groups by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The quantification studies demonstrated that TP and its metabolites significantly trapped ACR in a dose-dependent manner in vivo. Furthermore, we also detected those ACR adducts of TP and TP/CAF's metabolites in human urine after four cups of green tea (2 g tea leaf/cup) or two cups of coffee (4 g coffee/cup) were consumed per day. Those results indicated that dietary TP or CAF has the potential capacity to scavenge ACR in vivo.