Investigations of Factors That Influence the Acrylamide Content of Heated Foodstuffs

Abstract

The acrylamide content of heated foodstuffs should be considered to be the net result of complex reactions leading to the formation and elimination/degradation of this compound. The present study, involving primarily homogenized potato heated in an oven, was designed to characterize parameters that influence these reactions, including the heating temperature, duration of heating, pH, and concentrations of various components. Higher temperature (200 degrees C) combined with prolonged heating times produced reduced levels of acrylamide, due to elimination/degradation processes. At certain concentrations the presence of asparagine or monosaccharides (in particular, fructose and also glucose and glyceraldehyde) was found to increase the net content of acrylamide. Addition of other free amino acids or a protein-rich food component strongly reduced the acrylamide content, probably by promoting competing reactions and/or covalently binding acrylamide formed. The dependence on pH of the acrylamide content exhibited a maximum around pH 8; in particular, lower pH was shown to enhance elimination and decelerate formation of acrylamide. In contrast, the effects of additions of antioxidants or peroxides on acrylamide content were small or nonexistent.

Reactivity of acrylamide with coffee melanoidins in model systems

“…This hypothesis is supported by earlier studies, in which amino acids with nucleophilic side chains considerably decrease levels of the free ACR, due to Michael-type addition reactions producing the corresponding 3-(alkylamino)-propionamide (Adams et al, 2010;Koutsidis et al, 2009;Zamora, Delgado, & Hidalgo, 2010). In addition, it is known that the addition of free amino acids other than the ACR precursor asparagine, such as glycine, lysine and cysteine, can reduce ACR concentrations in thermally treated foods (Brathen, Kita, Knutsen, & Wicklund, 2005;Rydberg et al, 2003). But the exact mechanisms of ACR degradation and adduct-formation in food products remain unknown (Adams et al, 2010).…”

Genetic and agronomic approaches to decreasing acrylamide precursors in crop plants

“…A number of proposals have been put forward to lower acrylamide levels by changing processing methods; they include reducing cooking times and temperatures (Amrein et al, 2004, Surdyk et al, 2004, Taubert et al, 2004 and lowering the pH (Amrein et al, 2004, Jung et al, 2003, Rydberg et al, 2003. However, the Maillard reaction, which is responsible for acrylamide formation, also generates desirable flavour and colour compounds in heated food, so reducing the cooking time and temperature, or lowering the pH may reduce colour and flavour development.…”

Potential Anticarcinogenic Effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria and Probiotics in Detoxification of Process-Induced Food Toxicants

“…Because of the undesirable impacts of acrylamide on human health, many strategies have been investigated in order to alleviate the amount of acrylamide in foods. These approaches include reduction of precursors in raw materials (78)(79)(80), changing the process parameters such as temperature, pH and addition of amino acid and salts (81)(82)(83)(84) and post processing approaches like chromatography, evaporation, polymerization (85)(86)(87). Recently, application of specific strains of lactic acid bacteria has been explored owing to their ability to reduce the acrylamide content in foods.…”