Mutagens in the food we eat

Diet has been associated with differences in cancer rates in human populations for many years, yet the exact causes of cancer from the diet have not been adequately explained. Since 1980, a series of potent chemicals that cause mutagenic events bacteria and cause cancer in animals have been identified. These substances are formed in some heated foods, most notably, muscle meats.

We have a long-term project to examine the amounts of the chemicals in foods and their effects in a variety of biological test systems. Of particular interest is are biological effects at the low doses of the toxic compounds present in the human diet. Technology unique to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, medical use of accelerator mass spectrometry, enables us to determine if the events that occur at the high doses animals receive in cancer studies are the same as those occuring at doses in the human diet, sometimes a million-fold lower.

Current results show that the amounts of these chemicals in foods are low, from less than one to a few hundred parts-per-billion. A database of heterocyclic amine carcinogens sometimes found in foods is available. Recent work studying heterocyclic amine formation showed that marinating chicken before grilling greatly reduces the total heterocyclic amine content.

The biological effects are consistent showing the DNA-binding and mutation-causing effects also found with other carcinogens. Further work with model test systems to estimate the importance of these food mutagens for human health is underway in our laboratory and many others.




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Last modified September 23, 1997.