Heterocyclic amine formation and the impact of structure on their mutagenicity

The occurrence and formation of heterocyclic amines in foods is discussed i n light of the consistent finding of a new class of imidazopyridines. In ad dition, a quantitative structure-activity relationship will be presented co rrelating the potency of these imidazopyridines to predicted chemical prope rties. Although no strong linear correlation is found between the potency a nd the chemical properties, a low dipole moment is found to be a qualitativ e predictor of high mutagenic potency. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Scien ce Ireland Ltd.