Carcinogens Formed When Meat is Cooked

摘要

Diet has been associated with varying cancer rates in human populations for many years, yet the causes of the observed variation in cancer patterns have not been adequately explained. Along with the effect of diet on human cancer incidence is the strong evidence that mutations are the initiating events in the cancer process. Foods, when heated, are a good source of genotoxic carcinogens that very likely are a cause for some of these events. These carcinogens fall into two chemical classes: heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). There is ample evidence that many of these compounds are complete carcinogens in rodents. Heterocyclic aromatic amines are among the most potent mutagenic substances ever tested in the Ames/Salmonella mutagenicity test. Both classes of carcinogen cause tumors in rodents at multiple sites. Thus, it is important to estimate human exposure to the HAA and PAH food carcinogens by accurate dietary intake data to determine the amounts and types of carcinogens to which humans are exposed.