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Imprint
Genotoxicity of heat-induced food contaminants
Project
Project code: BfR-LMS-08-1322-590
Contract period: 01.03.2014
- 31.12.2015
Purpose of research: Applied research
Heat-induced food contaminants such as acrylamide or 3-MCPD fatty acid esters are increasingly in the focus of risk assessment. At least 800 compounds are known that are formed in the presence of heat in the course of food production processes; primarily these are reaction products of the Maillard reaction and of lipid oxidation. For most of these substances, however, there are no toxicological data and no exposition data available. In spite of this the BfR was asked by the BMELV on August 15th, 2011, to characterize the compounds and to sum up the need for research and the need for action from the view of risk assessment. As a first step, the toxicity of these 800 compounds was predicted by using computer models on the basis of (quantitative) structure activity relationships (QSAR) with respect to the endpoints mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. Within this project it is planned to examine the mutagenic potential of some of these compounds experimentally by using two in vitro genotoxicity assays (Ames test and V79 micronucleus assay), thereby verifying the validity of the predictions made by the computer models.
Results:
Thermal treatment of food can lead to the formation of a number of heat-induced contaminants such as acrylamide. From a toxicological perspective, there are only few or even no data available for most of these compounds. Based on their chemical structure it seems to be possible that some of these substances comprise a mutagenic potential, meaning that they might induce mutations, thereby contributing to cancer development. Within this project, computer models were employed to predict the mutagenicity of 814 compounds being products of either the Maillard reaction or of lipid oxidation. It was the aim of the study to experimentally verify the predictions for twelve of these compounds. For this purpose, two different in vitro genotoxicity assays were applied, the bacterial reverse mutation assay (Ames test) as well as the V79 micronucleus assay. In the case of the Ames test the experimental data were in good agreement with the predictions of the computer models. Those three compounds (3-chloro-1,2-propanediol, 2-chloro-1,3-propanediol, and 2-formylthiazol) that had been predicted by the computer models to have the highest propability for a mutagenic potential were indeed positive in the Ames test, whereas the other nine compounds with the lower propability for a mutagenic potential were negative in the Ames test. In the case of the micronucleus assay the analysis is not completed yet, however, on the basis of the preliminary results it can already be noted that there is only limited accordance between the experimental results are computational predictions. As an example, the mutagenic potential of the compound 2-methylphenol was predicted to be very low, howevere, the compound was clearly positive in the micronucleus assay. Therefore, the preliminary conclusion can be drawn that the computer models that are available today can not yet reliably predict the mutagenicity of substances. They will not be able to replace the classical experimental genotoxicity tests in the near future.
Section overview
Subjects
- Toxicology
