Abstrato

Biotechnological method for decreasing hazardous compound (acrylamide) formation during phyto food product processing.

Alemzadeh I, M.Matouri

Acrylamide is a toxicant and defined as a suspected human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer [1,2]. In 2002, a research group showed that acrylamide is found in a range of cooked foods, with the highest content range in carbohydrate-rich foods, 50-4000 μg Kg-1, and a range of 5-50 μg Kg-1 in protein-rich foods [2]. The outcome of this review was that the main acrylamide containing food groups were identified as cereal-based products and potatobased products [3]. Acrylamide in foods is formed in Maillard reaction pathway, which is a synthesis of asparagine, as an amino group, and a reducing sugar such as glucose and fructose (Figure 1) [4,5]. This reaction affects the development of flavor and color [6]. This chemical reaction mainly occurs at high temperatures (>120°C) and low moisture conditions [7]. Meanwhile, the relationship between these reactants and final product (acrylamide) is surprisingly complicated. Addition of the enzyme asparaginase, obtained from microbial sources has been reported as a method to reduce the formation of acrylamide since it results in the hydrolysis of asparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia (Figure 2).