Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the main mechanisms, metabolism, carcinogenesis, and structure with classification of heterocyclic amines (HCAs) in cooked meat. Currently, more than 25 types of HCAs have been separated, and it has been investigated that the type of food, cooking time, temperature, cooking method, or water-soluble precursor materials are the most influential causes of HCAs production. HCAs are compounds mainly produced when animal products are cooked, and the precursors include sugar, amino acid, creatine, and creatinine, which are components of muscle tissue. It has been investigated that imidazoquinolines and imidazoquinoxalines are formed by cooking and processing food, and HCAs are produced through Strecker degradation by Maillard reaction. To summarize the carcinogenicity of HCAs, DNA adducts are produced by activating N-acetyltransferase (NAT) enzymes by cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) in the body, starting with the amino group of HCAs. This leads to cancer development because it changes to a DNA sequence that is genetically identical to the mutation p53 that fails to suppress tumor development.
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