Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons barbecuing

A large number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are known Many have been synthesized m the laboratory and several of the others are products of com bustion Benzo[a]pyrene for example is present m tobacco smoke contaminates food cooked on barbecue grills and collects m the soot of chimneys Benzo[a]pyrene is a carcinogen (a cancer causing substance) It is converted m the liver to an epoxy diol that can induce mutations leading to the uncontrolled growth of certain cells... 

Sources. Benz[ ]anthracene is a major component of the total content of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, also known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons human exposure occurs primarily through smoking of tobacco, inhalation of products of incomplete organic combustion such as automobile exhaust, and ingestion of food contaminated by combustion effluents such as those that are smoked or barbecued. 

Kushwaha SC, Clarkson SG, Mehkeri KA. 1985. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in barbecue briquets. J Food Saf 7 177-201. 

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) represent a class of compounds that contain two or more fused benzene rings. They are environmental pollutants and the most ubiquitous, benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), has been upgraded by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to a Group 1 or known human carcinogen [1]. PAHs are products of fossil fuel combustion they are a component of fine particulate matter (size 2.5pm) and as a consequence contaminate the air we breathe, the soil and water supply, and enter the food chain [2, 3]. They are also introduced artificially into smoked, cured, and barbecued food [4, 5], Finally, they are present as a complex mixture in tobacco smoke and second-hand smoke, and are suspect causative agents in human lung cancer [6]. 

This chapter reviews the theoretical modelling of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and their activated metabolites in the light of the accumulated experimental evidence for their modes of genotoxic action. PAH s form a large class of molecules which are ubiquitous in human environment, i.e., urban air, car exhaust, cigarette smoke or barbecued food, and encompass an immense variety of structural types. It is no surprise that their structure-property relationships have been of continuous interest to theoreticians. In fact, PAH s have served as the testing field for many of the approximations used in MO and VB calculations [32-39]. 

Certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are carcinogenic (that is, they produce cancers). They can produce a tumor on mice in a short time when only trace amounts are painted on the skin. These carcinogenic hydrocarbons are present not only in coal tar but also in soot and tobacco smoke and can be formed in barbecuing meat. Their biological effect was noted as long ago as 1 775 when soot was identified as the cause of the high incidence of scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps. A similar occurrence of lung and lip cancer is common in habitual smokers. 

Mother, P., Parisod, V., and Turesky, R.J., Quantitative determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in barbecued meat sausages by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 48,1160, 2000. 

A very different type of food toxicity involves toxins that are produced during the food preparation process. For example, charbroiled meats or smoked products (e.g., fish, sausage) typically contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formed during the cooking process (including barbecuing). Therefore, you will be exposed to small amounts of these chemicals when you eat meats that have been char-broiled. PAHs are naturally produced through combustion. They are also formed from forest fires, and are considered products of incomplete combustion. PAHs are also present in diesel fuels and car exhaust, and in smoke released from chimneys. 

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