Nitrosamines, formation in foods

In anaerobic systems, ascorbic acid/ascorbate reacts with all of the nitrosating agents shown in Scheme 1. These reactions are generally faster than the reactions between amines or amides and the respective nitrosating agents, and ascorbic acid has been shown to be an effective in vitro inhibitor of amine nitrosation via competition for these agents (17,24). These results have been extended to more practical areas such as the prevention of nitrosamine formation in foods and in vivo (20, 21,22). 

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