Risk assessment of the exposure of Spanish children to acrylamide using human biomonitoring

Sandra F Fernández; Olga Pardo; Clara Coscollà; Vicent Yusà; BIOVAL task force

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119319

Risk assessment of the exposure of Spanish children to acrylamide using human biomonitoring

Environ Pollut. 2022 Jul 15:305:119319. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119319. Epub 2022 Apr 16.

Authors

Sandra F Fernández¹, Olga Pardo², Clara Coscollà³, Vicent Yusà⁴; BIOVAL task force

Affiliations

¹ Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, Avenida Catalunya, 21, 46020, Valencia, Spain; Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Valencia, Doctor Moliner 50, 46100, Burjassot, Spain.
² Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, Avenida Catalunya, 21, 46020, Valencia, Spain; Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Valencia, Doctor Moliner 50, 46100, Burjassot, Spain; Public Health Directorate of Valencia, Avenida Cataluña, 21, 46020, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: pardo_olg@gva.es.
³ Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, Avenida Catalunya, 21, 46020, Valencia, Spain.
⁴ Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, Avenida Catalunya, 21, 46020, Valencia, Spain; Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Valencia, Doctor Moliner 50, 46100, Burjassot, Spain; Public Health Laboratory of Valencia, Avenida Cataluña, 21, 46020, Valencia, Spain.

PMID: 35439595
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119319

Abstract

Acrylamide (AA) is an organic contaminant that naturally forms in starchy foods during high-temperature cooking under low-moisture conditions. It is mainly produced from the sugars and amino acids present in food by the Maillard reaction. When humans are exposed to AA, AA is eliminated in the urine as mercapturic acid conjugates, primarily including N-acetyl-S-(2-carbamoylethyl)-L-cysteine (AAMA), N-acetyl-S-(2-carbamoyl-2-hydroxyethyl)-L-cysteine (GAMA3), and N-acetyl-3-[(3-amino-3-oxopropyl)sulfinyl]-L-alanine (AAMA-Sul), which are used as exposure biomarkers of AA in human biomonitoring studies. Although the carcinogenic effects of AA on humans have not been demonstrated yet, some studies have shown that AA may negatively affect children's health. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the exposure of Spanish children (n = 612) to AA. For this purpose, the levels of AAMA, AAMA-Sul, and GAMA3 in first-morning urine samples were analyzed by "dilute and shoot" and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The three metabolites were detected in all the children involved in this study in the following order (geometric mean (GM)): AAMA (79 ng ml^-1) > AAMA-Sul (28 ng ml^-1) > GAMA3 (18 ng ml^-1). Statistical analysis suggested that the intake of fried potato products and biscuits could be associated with higher levels of AA metabolites in urine. Estimated daily intakes of AA in the children under study were in the range of 1.2-1.5 μg AA·kg-body weight^-1·day^-1 (GM). Risk assessment calculations indicate that the health risk of AA exposure cannot be overlooked and the exposure of Spanish children to AA should be closely monitored.

Keywords: Acrylamide; Children; Human biomonitoring; Risk assessment; Spain.

MeSH terms

Acrylamide* / metabolism
Biological Monitoring*
Child
Chromatography, Liquid
Humans
Risk Assessment
Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Substances

Acrylamide