Acrylamide in thermal-processed carbohydrate-rich foods from Chinese market

Acrylamide, hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural in ready-to-eat foods consumed by child population: Presence, risk assessment and future perspectives

Food intake contributes to adequate growth and neurodevelopment of children. Ready-to-eat foods, frequently consumed by this population, are sources of acrylamide (AA), hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural (FF). In this sense, a review of the AA, HMF, and FF presence in ready-to-eat foods was evaluated through a systematic search to infer the risk of exposure in the child population. About 75.8%, 24.2%, and 21% of the studies found AA, HMF, and FF in ready-to-eat foods, respectively. AA is predominant in processed and ultra-processed foods, while HMF and FF are commonly found in fruit-based foods. Only 17.7% of the studies assessed the children's risk of exposure, based on the contaminant concentration in ready-to-eat food and not after gastrointestinal digestion, a more realistic measure. Therefore, with the obtained information and found gaps, it is expected that new strategies will be proposed to assess the vulnerability of the child population to these processing contaminants.

Role of galacturonic acid in acrylamide formation: Insights from structural analysis

Acrylamide (AA) is a neoformed compound in heated foods, mainly produced between asparagine (Asn) and glucose (Glc) during the Maillard reaction. Galacturonic acid (GalA), the major component of pectin, exhibits high activity in AA formation. This study investigated the pathway for AA formation between GalA and Asn. Three possible pathways were proposed: 1) The carbonyl group of GalA directly interacts with Asn to produce AA; 2) GalA undergoes an oxidative cleavage reaction to release α-dicarbonyl compounds, which subsequently leads to AA production; 3) 5-formyl-2-furancarboxylic acid, the thermal degradation product of GalA, reacts with Asn to generate AA. Structural analysis revealed that the COOH group in GalA accelerated intramolecular protonation and electron transfer processes, thereby increasing the formation of AA precursors such as decarboxylated Schiff base and α-dicarbonyl compounds, promoting AA formation. This study provides a theoretical basis and new insights into the formation and control of AA.

Acrylamide in heat-treated carbohydrate-rich foods in Turkey

This study was conducted to provide data on the amount of acrylamide (AA) in 270 heat-treated carbohydrate-rich foods in Turkey, determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 270 samples were analysed and it was found that 85% of potato chips, 80% of biscuits, 85% of cakes, 80% of bread, 80% of roasted peanuts, 80% of roasted nuts and 85% of pretzels contained AA above the limit of quantification (LOQ). Analytical results indicated that 10 corn chips samples, 4 biscuits samples, all bread samples, all wheat bread samples, 2 dried bread samples and 1 pretzel sample contained AA levels above the benchmark levels of 150, 350, 50, 50, 300 and 300 µg/kg, respectively, as set by the European Commission.

Acrylamide in potato chips in Iran, health risk assessment and mitigation

This study aimed to determine the acrylamide content in potato chips sold in Kermanshah, Iran and assess the potential health concerns associated with acrylamide exposure. HPLC-DAD was used to analyse 120 samples across 40 brands. The possible non-carcinogenic risk index for adults was below 1 for all 40 brands (100%), but for children it was only below 1 for 9 brands (22.5%) and above 1 for 31 brands (77.5%). Regarding the possible carcinogenic risk index, for adults only 1 out of 40 brands rated > 10-4, whereas for children all brands rated > 10-4. This shows that children's exposure to acrylamide through potato chips consumption in Kermanshah can be considered a risk on cancer and exposure of adults requires attention and monitoring. The best way to reduce acrylamide in potato chips and associated health risks is to improve the production process, especially temperature and time.

Toxicity, formation, contamination, determination and mitigation of acrylamide in thermally processed plant-based foods and herbal medicines: A review

Thermal processing is one of the important techniques for most of the plant-based food and herb medicines before consumption and application in order to meet the specific requirement. The plant and herbs are rich in amino acids and reducing sugars, and thermal processing may lead to Maillard reaction, resulting as a high risk of acrylamide pollution. Acrylamide, an organic pollutant that can be absorbed by the body through the respiratory tract, digestive tract, skin and mucous membranes, has potential carcinogenicity, neurological, genetic, reproductive and developmental toxicity. Therefore, it is significant to conduct pollution determination and risk assessment for quality assurance and security of medication. This review demonstrates state-of-the-art research of acrylamide focusing on the toxicity, formation, contamination, determination, and mitigation in taking food and herb medicine, to provide reference for scientific processing and ensure the security of consumers.

Acrylamide content of industrial and traditional popcorn collected from Tehran's market, Iran: A risk assessment study

Acrylamide as a probable human carcinogen can be produced via the Maillard reaction between asparagine and reducing sugars at high temperatures during food processing. In this study, the concentration of acrylamide in industrial and traditional popcorn sold in Tehran, Iran in the spring of 2021 was analyzed. Industrial popcorn is popcorn that has a manufacturing license from the health authorities. Traditional popcorn is sold by retailers in entertainment centers. Estimated daily intake (EDI) and margin of exposure (MOE) for neurological changes and neoplastic effects have been estimated. The values of limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were determined as 3.1 and 10.2 ng/mL, respectively. The amount of acrylamide was measured ranging from nondetectable up to 14.8 mg/kg. Acrylamide was detected in 86% of samples. The level of acrylamide in most popcorn samples has been detected as greater than LOD and LOQ. The average content of acrylamide in traditional popcorn was determined to be 7.7 mg/kg which was higher than the average value of 3.08 mg/kg found in industrial popcorn. Significant difference was observed between industrial and traditional popcorn samples. The average intake of popcorn for adolescent population was estimated as 2 g per day. EDI was calculated as 0.3 and 0.12 µg/kg of body weight per day for the traditional and industrial popcorn. These results indicated that popcorn can be considered a potential source of acrylamide exposure in the adolescent population. Furthermore, if the actual MOEs for neurological and neoplastic effects are estimated to be less than 10 000, it is considered a health risk. In this study, MOE has been estimated lower than 10 000 for neurological changes and neoplastic effects.

Cancer risk and disease burden of dietary acrylamide exposure in China, 2016

BACKGROUND

Acrylamide is widely found in food as a side-product of high-temperature heating of starch-rich food. It has attracted much attention because of its neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity. However, the cancer risk and disease burden of dietary acrylamide exposure have not been quantified in China.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the cancer risk and the disease burden attributable to dietary acrylamide exposure and quantify its health hazards.

METHOD

We first performed an exposure assessment of acrylamide in food, based on which the incremental excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) was calculated for cancer risk assessment. The DisMod Ⅱ software and the DALY calculator in R were used to calculate the disease burden due to dietary acrylamide exposure.

RESULTS

Average dietary acrylamide exposure in males was 0.1531 μg·kg^-1·d^-1 and that in females was 0.1554 μg·kg^-1·d^-1, resulting in an ELCR of 7.81 × 10^-5 for males and 7.92 × 10^-5 for females in China. The dietary acrylamide exposure resulted in about 23,688.09 DALYs of cancers among the Chinese population in 2016, including 1331.93 DALYs of breast cancer, 243.32 DALYs of endometrial cancer, 248.91 DALYs of ovarian cancer, and 176.28 DALYs of kidney cancer, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The health hazards of dietary acrylamide exposure deserve attention. The burden of disease assessment could quantify the health hazards of food contaminants for prioritizing policies.

Acrylamide in Corn-Based Thermally Processed Foods: A Review

Widely consumed thermally processed corn-based foods can have a great contribution to acrylamide dietary intake, thus bearing a high public health risk and requiring attention and application of strategies for its reduction. This paper reviews the literature on the acrylamide content of corn-based food products present in the market around the world. The potential of corn for acrylamide formation due to its content of free asparagine and reducing sugars is described. Human exposure to acrylamide from corn-based foods is also discussed. The content of acrylamide in corn/tortilla chips, popcorn, and corn flakes, as widely consumed products all over the world, is reported in the literature to be between 5 and 6360 μg/kg, between <LOD and 2220 μg/kg and between <LOD and 1186 μg/kg, respectively. Although these products are important acrylamide sources in the common diet of all age populations, higher intake values occurred among younger generations.

A portable kit based on thiol-ene Michael addition for acrylamide detection in thermally processed foods

Accurate, sensitive, and selective analysis of acrylamide generated in thermally processed foods is of great significance for food safety. Herein, a novel acrylamide sensing platform is designed for both sensitive on-site colorimetric analysis and accurate UV-vis spectroscopy quantification, by integrating thiol-ene Michael addition with gold nanoparticles-mediated catalytical oxidation. The Michael addition reaction between acrylamide and glutathione efficiently alleviates glutathione-induced catalytic activity inhibition of gold nanoparticles, evoking the chromogenic reaction of H₂O₂-mediated 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine. With increasing the concentration of acrylamide, the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine is accelerated, presenting a series of shades from colorless to blue. The sensing platform exhibits excellent detection performance of acrylamide in the range of 0.5-175 μM with a detection limit of 0.16 μM, and is successfully employed in food samples. Especially, a portable assay kit based on the proposed platform is developed for visual determination of acrylamide, opening an avenue for smart sensors of food safety hazards.

Dietary Pattern, Genomic Stability and Relative Cancer Risk in Asian Food Landscape

The incidence of cancer globally is increasing, partly due to lifestyle factors. Despite a better understanding of cancer biology and advancement in cancer management and therapies, current strategies in cancer treatment remain costly and cause socioeconomic burden especially in Asian countries. Hence, instead of putting more efforts in searches for new cancer cures, attention has now shifted to understanding how to mitigate cancer risk by modulating lifestyle factors. It has been established that carcinogenesis is multifactorial, and the important detrimental role of oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and genomic instability is evident. To date, there is no study linking dietary pattern and genomic stability in cancer risk in the Asian food landscape. Thus, this present review article discusses recent literature on dietary pattern and genomic stability and its relationship with cancer risk in Asia.

A fluorescence biosensor based on single-stranded DNA and carbon quantum dots for acrylamide detection

As a potential carcinogen produced in food thermal processing, acrylamide (AM) can cause irreversible harm to human health. For the detection of AM in food products, a simple fluorescent biosensor based on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) was developed. Reduced fluorescence intensity of CQDs at 445 nm (excitation at 350 nm) was induced by the attachment of ssDNA. In the presence of AM, ssDNA was preferentially bound to AM by hydrogen bonding and the degree of fluorescence reduction was smaller than that without AM. Under optimized conditions, results showed that the sensing approach for detecting AM had a low detection limit of 2.41 × 10^-8 M in the standard solution, and a linear relationship ranging from 5 × 10^-3 to 1 × 10^-7 M with the determination coefficient (R²) of 0.9895 was obtained. Furthermore, a good recovery percentage (91.36-98.11%) in bread crust showed the potential for practical applications of this proposed biosensor.

Determination and risk assessment of acrylamide in thermally processed Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma

As one of the medicine homologous foods in China, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (AMR) is usually distributed after thermal processing, which raised the possibility of acrylamide pollution and a potential carcinogenic risk. In this study, a method was developed for the determination of the acrylamide in AMR using graphited multiwalled carbon nanotubes as the dispersive solid phase extraction sorbent and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The concentration of acrylamide was investigated at processing conditions of 80℃-210℃ and 5 min-100 min. Method validation results demonstrated the reliability of the method with good linearity, accuracy and precision. Significant increment of acrylamide was found in AMR after thermal processing with the highest concentration at 9826 μg/kg, which led to a margin of exposure at 90.83-181.7 according to the BMDL₁₀ of carcinogenicity at 0.17 mg/kg, indicating a high health risk of taking thermally processed AMR, and monitoring and controlling should be considered.

Neuroprotective effects of notoginsenoside R1 by upregulating Trx-1 on acrylamide-induced neurotoxicity in PC12

Acrylamide (ACR) is a water-soluble chemical that is commonly used in chemical and cosmetic manufacture. Many studies have been carried out to investigate the neurotoxicity mechanisms of ACR, resulting in oxidative stress and nerve damages. One of the commonly used traditional Chinese medicines is notoginsenoside R1 (NR1). However, its mitochondrial-mediated apoptotic effect caused in ACR-induced neurotoxicity has not been reported. Our results have shown that NR1 resisted the neurotoxicity induced by ACR by upregulating the levels of thioredoxin-1 (Trx-1) in Rat adrenal chromaffin cell tumor (PC12) cells. NR1 inhibited the increase in levels of Bax, caspase-9, and caspase-3, which was instigated by ACR. Moreover, NR1 inhibited the decrease in levels of B-cell lymphoma 2 and Trx-1 induced by ACR. The downregulation of Trx-1 aggravated the mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis and increased the expression of the above molecules, which was induced by ACR. In contrast, overexpression of Trx-1 attenuated the mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis and inhibited the expression of the mentioned molecules induced by ACR. Our results suggested that NR1 protected ACR-induced mitochondrial apoptosis by upregulating Trx-1.

Acrylamide in daily food in the metropolitan area of Hanoi, Vietnam

Acrylamide, a colourless and odourless crystalline solid, formed via the Maillard reaction in food, has been reported with harmful properties for humans, such as toxicity and carcinogenicity. Three hundred and four processed food samples from 17 product types, collected in Hanoi, Vietnam, were analyzed by LC-MS/MS to measure the acrylamide concentration. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) of acrylamide were 1 µg Kg^-1 and 3 µg Kg^-1, respectively. Effectively, the highest acrylamide content is usually found in processed food, which is one of the primary reasons of increased acrylamide content in food. All French fried samples contained acrylamide above 500 µg kg^-1. Acrylamide concentration in non-fried noodle, vermicelli, rice noodle, phở, dried vegetable, and rice cracker is lower than in potato chips, fried potatoes, fried cake, and fried noodles. The results could be helpful to estimate exposure and risk assessment of acrylamide in Vietnam.

Protective effects of a Ganoderma atrum polysaccharide against acrylamide induced oxidative damage via a mitochondria mediated intrinsic apoptotic pathway in IEC-6 cells

The preventive role of a purified Ganoderma atrum polysaccharide PSG-1-F₂ as a new dietary antioxidant against the intestinal toxicity of acrylamide (ACR) was investigated in vitro. Our results showed that ACR could induce oxidative stress in IEC-6 cells by the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and as well as the reduction in the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). In addition, the induction of a mitochondria-mediated intrinsic apoptotic pathway by ACR was evidenced by the events of loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, bax/bcl-2 dysregulation, cytochrome c release, and activation of caspase-3. Interestingly, PSG-1-F₂ was able to suppress ACR toxicity by improving the redox status of IEC-6 cells and by attenuating mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Its protective effect was even superior to the clinically used antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC). This study uniquely introduces PSG-1-F₂ as a potential inhibitor of ACR-induced stress and toxicities.