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Date: | Mon, 18 Aug 1997 14:05:45 -0700 |
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I came across the following, and thought some on the list might find
it of interest. Note the refs. to Maillard, and the comments on sugar.
Regards,
Tom Billings
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Skog K.
Cooking procedures and food mutagens: a literature review.
Food and Chemical Toxicology, 1993 Sep, 31(9):655-75.
Pub type: JOURNAL ARTICLE; REVIEW; REVIEW, ACADEMIC.
Abstract: Commonly eaten meat products prepared from beef, pork, mutton and
chicken show some level of mutagenic activity following normal frying. Food
preparation methods have a significant influence on the formation of the
mutagenic activity. The main food mutagens found in cooked meat products are
heterocyclic amines. Several of them have been tested in long-term animal
studies and shown to be carcinogenic in rodents. From a health point of
view, it is desirable to reduce or prevent the formation of food mutagens.
Therefore, a deeper understanding of the precursors and reaction conditions
for mutagen formation during normal domestic cooking is very important.
Modelling experiments are useful tools for studying the influence of
different physical parameters and various precursors on the mutagenic
activity. The identification of several thermic mutagens from the modelling
experiments support the theory that creatine or creatinine, amino acids and
sugars are precursors in the formation of thermic mutagens. Creatine is
generally accepted to be a precursor of the mutagens and, interestingly, the
conversion of creatine to creatinine has been shown to be blocked by an
excess of sugars, which also caused the mutagenic activity to decrease. The
mutagenic activity differed for different amino acids used in the model
systems, and various thermic mutagens were produced from the amino acids.
The incorporation of carbon atoms originating from glucose into food mutagen
molecules has shown glucose to be a precursor. Sugar has also been shown to
either enhance or inhibit the yield of mutagenic activity, depending on its
molar ratio versus the other reactants, which suggests that the Maillard
reaction may be used to control the formation of mutagens.
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