Mutagenicity and aromatic amine content of fumes from heated cooking oils produced in Taiwan

According to toxicological studies, there are several unidentified mutagens derived from cooking oil fumes appearing in kitchens of Chinese homes wher e women daily prepare food. Data are limited to an analysis of aromatic ami nes from cooking oil fumes, which are known to be carcinogenic for bladder cancer. Fume samples from three different commercial cooking oils frequentl y used in Taiwan were collected and analysed for mutagenicity in the Salmon ella/microsome assay. Aromatic amines were extracted from the samples and i dentified by HPLC and confirmed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC /MS). Extracts from three cooking oil fumes were found to be mutagenic in t he presence of S-9 mix. All samples contained 2-naphthylamine (2-NA) and 4- aminobiphenyl (4-ABP). Concentrations of 2-NA and 4-ABP were 31.5 and 35.7 mu g/m(3) in fumes from sunflower oil, 31.9 and 26.4 mg/m(3) in vegetable o il, and 48.3 and 23.3 mu g/m(3) in refined-lard oil, respectively. Mutageni cities of the three cooking oil condensates were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) by adding the antioxidant catechin (CAT) into the oils before heatin g. Significant difference existed between the amounts of aromatic amines wi th and without adding CAT (P < 0.05). These results indicate that exposure to cooking oil fumes in Taiwan might be an important but controllable risk factor in the aetiology of bladder cancer. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier S cience Ltd. All rights reserved.