Abstract
Ethyl maltol and iron complexes are products of ethyl maltol and the iron found in the cooking pots used to prepare the Chinese dish, hot-pot. Because their safety is undocumented, the toxicity study of ethyl maltol and iron complexes was conducted in male and female Kunming (KM) mice. The animal study was designed based on the preliminary study conducted to determine the median lethal dose (LD50). The doses used in the study were 0, 1/81, 1/27, 1/9, and 1/3 of the LD50 (mg kg body weight (BW)−1 day−1) dissolved in the water. The oral LD50 of the ethyl maltol and iron complexes was determined to be 743.88 mg kg BW−1 in mice. The ethyl maltol and iron complexes targeted the endocrine organs including the liver and kidneys following the 90 D oral exposure. Based on the haematological data, the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) of the ethyl maltol and iron complexes was determined to be 1/81 LD50 (9.18 mg kg BW−1 day−1) in both male and female mice. Therefore, we suggest that alternative strategies for preparing the hot-pot, including the use of non-Fe-based cookware, need to be developed and encouraged to avoid the formation of the potentially toxic complexes.
Highlights
Ethyl maltol (C7H8O3, Figure 1) is an important food additive and the main component of a type of incense added to food
No mortality was observed in 24 h, after which the mice in group 6 showed the first mortality followed by the other groups
According to the standard acute toxicity classification, the ethyl maltol and iron complexes belong to level 3 category, suggesting they possessed low toxicity
Summary
Ethyl maltol (C7H8O3, Figure 1) is an important food additive and the main component of a type of incense added to food. Hot-pot is an original traditional Chinese dish, and its most important characteristic is its fragrance. Ethyl maltol is the key food additive and flavour enhancer that imparts the characteristic hot-pot fragrance. In the process of preparing hot-pot, the businesses involved often randomly add a drop of ethyl maltol-containing incense to the bottom of the cooking pots, which when fabricated with Fe can react with the steam produced during the boiling process to produce iron oxide (Fe3O4). In the process of making the well-loved Chinese hotpot dish more flavourful, the ethyl maltol inevitably comes in contact with the Fe to form iron complexes that are kinetically labile. The ethyl maltol enhances the scent of foods, a high dietary intake may lead to headaches, nausea, and vomiting and could affect the liver and kidney functions [2, 3, 6]
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