Content, causes and analysis of heterocyclic amines in Chinese traditional braised chicken

ABSTRACTBraised chicken is a popular traditional chicken product in China with a special and complicated culinary method. However, there has been little research focused on the food safety problems caused by hazardous compounds in braised chicken. In this study, the contents of heterocyclic amines (HCAs) in representative braised chicken samples were determined. Total HCAs in braised chicken were relatively high (6.20–27.7 ng g−1), and aminoimidazoazaarenes (AIAs) took a large proportion (54.0–86.4%). 2-Amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) was found in all samples with a high level (2.72–13.5 ng g−1), whilst 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) was low (0.14–0.41 ng g−1). 9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole (Norharman) and 1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole (Harman) were main components in aminocarbolines (ACs). So the potential safety risk in braised chicken caused by high HCAs content should be paid attention. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to analyse and visualise the differences o...