Abstract
The β-carbolines in our diet, mainly including harman and norharman, are a group of biologically active, naturally occurring plant-derived alkaloids. Fragrant sesame seed oil is one of the most popular flavor edible oils in China. Considering that sesame seeds are roasted at 200–240 °C during the processing of flavor sesame seed oils, it is meaningful to investigate the levels of β-carboline compounds in various sesame seed oils. In this work, the levels of β-carbolines (harman and norharman) in different types of sesame seed oils in China (e.g., pressed fragrant sesame oil, ground fragrant sesame oil) have been determined systematically. The results showed that the levels of total β-carbolines in pressed fragrant sesame oils (700.5~2423.2 μg/kg) were higher than that in ground fragrant sesame oils (660.4~1171.7 μg/kg). Roasting sesame seeds at high temperatures (200–240 °C) led to higher levels of β-carbolines (660~2400 μg/kg) in fragrant sesame seed oils. In addition, the loss of tryptophan might be attributed to the formation of β-carbolines in sesame seeds during the roasting process. In general, fragrant sesame seed oils (pressed fragrant sesame oils, ground fragrant sesame oils) contain higher levels of β-carbolines due to the formation of harman and norharman during the roasting sesame seed process.
Highlights
IntroductionIntroduction βCarbolines, mainly including harman and norharman, are a group of naturally occurring, plant-derived alkaloids that are biologically active in our diets [1,2,3]
Introduction βCarbolines, mainly including harman and norharman, are a group of naturally occurring, plant-derived alkaloids that are biologically active in our diets [1,2,3]
The results showed that the contents of harman ranged from 254.0 μg/kg to 1197.7 μg/kg and the contents of norharman ranged from 403.6 μg/kg to 1230.7 μg/kg
Summary
Introduction βCarbolines, mainly including harman and norharman, are a group of naturally occurring, plant-derived alkaloids that are biologically active in our diets [1,2,3]. Harman (H) and norharman (NH) are considered as the non-polar heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs), generated during the treatment of protein-rich foods (e.g., meat) at high temperature through pyrolysis of proteins and amino acids [4]. Harman and norharman have been detected in many processed and stored foods, including cookies, maize, soy, coffee and even fermented alcoholic beverages [2,7,8,9]. Many studies have shown that these β-carbolines (harman and norharman) were found in coffee and were inhibitors of monoamines oxidase (MAO), and that coffee consumption has been correlated with a lower incidence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) [1,2]. Cigarette smoke (mainstream and sidestream brands of cigarettes) contains a high concentration of β-carbolines (8990 ng/cigarette for norharman and 3000 ng/cigarette for harman) [8].
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