POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-COMPOUNDS - EXTRACTION AND DETERMINATION IN FOOD

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polycyclic aromatic compou nds (PACs) in general, comprise the largest class of known environment al carcinogens. Reports of some studies of total diet in a number of d eveloped countries indicate that food constitutes an important source of exposure of man to PACs, although other authors have shown the need to develop accurate data, in order that the overall public health haz ard may be effectively evaluated and controlled. In this context, this review aims to give an overview of methods used to determine the PAC content of foodstuffs. At first, the nature, classification and derive d compounds of PAHs are considered. Likewise, the occurrence of PAHs i n processed and in non-processed foods is shown. The main causes are e nvironmental contamination and the utilization of procedures which giv e rise to the presence of PACs during the processing, preservation, an d packaging of foods. Octanol: water partition coefficients of PACs an d their relationships with some properties, such as aqueous solubility and bioaccumulation, are considered. The solubility of complex mixtur es of PACs in several organic solvents and the different methods for e xtraction and isolation of the PAC-fraction from foodstuffs are review ed. The methodologies used for the separation, identification and quan titative determination also are briefly considered.