Acrylamide in biological materials and methods of the analytical determination.

Acrylamide is a toxic water-soluble highly-reactive substance of anthropogenic origin. It is formed in foodstuffs containing asparagine and reducing carbohydrates during their thermal processing at high temperatures. The presence of acrylamide has been proven in numerous kinds of food; fried potatoes and cereal based products contained significant levels. Approximately one third of human daily energy intake is food with a higher content of acrylamide, which gives rise to high loading. It effects as neurotoxin in human organism and is suspected to be genotoxic and carcinogenic to humans. In a relatively short time since the detection of acrylamide in human nutriment, many of scientific studies focused on contaminated food. Many indefinite findings resulted from all the data about its toxicity, negative effects and occurrence in biological materials. Based on former monitoring intent on the quantitative determination of acrylamide in food chain, we would like to emphasize the importance of additional studies on its occurrence in human milk and other biological fluids. Upon the strength of results of acrylamide research up till now, the European Union has discussed setting of maximum levels for acrylamide in particular types of food (Ref. 21).

Results of the first studies of occurence of ochratoxin A in human milk in Slovakia.

Authors bring the work the purpose of which is to offer information about quality of human milk from the viewpoint of possible contamination with mycotoxin Ochratoxin A from the fist analyses in Slovakia. One of its main toxic effect is nephrotoxicity, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, teratogenity and carcinogenity. MATERIAL AND PROCEDURE: 76 samples of human milk from locality Martin and the corresponding zone were analysed by technique of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) in conditions as mentioned below. RESULTS: Ochratoxin A was proved in 23 samples, 9 samples of the number with values from 2.3 +/- 0.99 ng/l to 60.3 +/- 25.93 ng/l, its occurence was at the level of quantification limit in the other 14 samples and it was undetectable in 55 samples of human milk. CONCLUSION: Up to now findings of our study have pointed out that Ochratoxin A can occur in human milk also in our conditions and determined values range between limits like those in Germany and Switzerland (Tab. 3, Fig. 1, Ref. 15).