Heterocyclic aromatic amines in cooked food: A review on formation, health risk-toxicology and their analytical techniques

Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are defined as a major class of poisonous compounds formed from proteinaceous foods during heat processing and flavour-forming. These toxicants have detrimental effects on the human body and eventually bring about mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. Owing to the presence of HAAs at a marginal level in the intricate tissue of food and their interactivity, an effective sample preparation should be employed to extract these controversial chemicals from the food matrix. For separation and detection of HAAs, advanced extraction methods and instrumental techniques have been applied. According to the type of sample preparation, sensitivity of the experiment, laboratory conditions and available facilities, the choice of analytical equipment will be different. In this review, various cooked food samples containing HAAs and heat processing of them have been listed. Also, sample pre-treatment and analytical techniques that have been applied to determine HAAs are discussed.