A review of acrylamide toxicity and its mechanism

Acrylamide (AA) is an important manufacturing chemical agent that is used for producing of polymers and copolymers. Also, AA has been intended for producing grouts and soil stabilizers since 1970 (1). The importance of AA as a food contamination was shown when Tareke et al. observed that feeding rats with fried feed showed a large increase in the level of the hemoglobin adduct (2). AA is formed in food when high carbohydrate foods prepares at high-temperature (>120 oC) processing such as cooking, frying, toasting, roasting or baking. It happens when amino acid asparagine reacts with sugars especially glucose and fructose as a result of the Maillard reaction (3). International Agency on Research on Cancer (IARC) classified AA as ‘‘probably carcinogenic to humans’’. In 2001, the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment revealed acrylamide’s inherent toxic properties such as neurotoxicity, genotoxicity in both somatic and germ cells, carcinogenicity, and reproductive toxicity(4). In 2002, Swedish National Food Administration added AA to the list of neo-formed contaminants (NFCs) when it was identified in several heat processing, carbohydrate-rich foods, such as potato chips, crisps, coffee and bread (5). In 1997, a large water leakage happened during the building of a tunnel in Sweden. Tunnel’s walls were contained monomer of AA and other acrylamide’s derivatives such as Nmethylolacrylamide. Leakage of these compounds into the environment killed fish and paralyzed cattle near the construction site (4). Due to the wide exposure to AA in food and environment, we focused on the last achievements about AA properties and toxicity.