Potential sources of carcinogenic heterocyclic amines in the Chinese diet: results from a 24-h dietary recall study in Singapore.
OBJECTIVE
Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) from high-temperature cooking of meat have been linked to increased cancer incidence in Western populations, but data on the sources of HCAs in Asian diets are scarce. Our aim was to identify potential sources of HCAs in the Chinese diet, and to provide the basis for efforts to quantify dietary exposure to these compounds.


METHODS
We conducted 24-h dietary recall interviews among 986 Chinese men and women in Singapore, who were a randomly selected subpopulation of participants from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a population-based cohort. Details of all foods and beverages consumed by each subject in the past 24 h were recorded, and information on meat type, cooking method and portion size were abstracted from all meat-containing dishes, and gram weight equivalents computed.


RESULTS
The mean meat intake per person was 103.0 g/day (standard deviation 74.2), of which 97.2% was fresh meat. Fish (38.0%), pork (30.6%), and poultry (21.0%) accounted for 89.6% of meat consumed. Patterns of meat consumption and cooking methods differed markedly from Western populations. Documented high-temperature cooking methods, combined with stir-frying, accounted for 44.3% of fish, 35.1% of pork and 25.6% of poultry consumed. Specifically, potentially significant sources of HCAs were pan-fried fish and barbecued pork.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results identify the potential sources of HCA in the Chinese diet, highlight aspects which are relevant to HCA formation and intake, and call for novel approaches to estimating individual exposure to dietary HCAs in this and similar populations.
Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
W-P
WP
Koh
H N
HN
Yang
H Q
HQ
Yang
S-H
SH
Low
A
A
Seow
D000368:Aged; D000588:Amines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods*; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000009:adverse effects; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology
D000588:Amines; D002273:Carcinogens; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds