TITLE:
4-Hydroxynonenal (HNE), a Toxic Aldehyde in Fried Chicken from Fast Food Restaurants and a Grocery Store
AUTHORS:
Ning Yin, Don W. Shoeman, Katherine A. Klammer, A. Saari Csallany
KEYWORDS:
Fast Food, Fried Chicken, Lipid Oxidation, 4-Hydroxynoninal (HNE), TBARS, Toxic Aldehyde, Fats
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.11 No.2,
February
10,
2020
ABSTRACT: The lipid
oxidation product, the toxic 4-hydroxynonenal, was measured for fried chicken
in commercial samples from two fast food restaurants and one commercial
establishment. The fried chicken samples were breasts, thighs, chicken nuggets
and popcorn chicken. Fried chicken samples were separated to breast skin and
meat, and thigh skin and meat. Chicken nuggets and popcorn chicken were not
separated from the coating materials and the meat was analyzed together.
Samples were analyzed for total fat, fatty acid distribution, reactivity with
thiobarbituric acid (TBAR), measuring the secondary lipid peroxidation products
such as aldehydes, ketones and related carbonyl compounds. Samples were
analyzed for HNE, a toxic aldehyde using high performance liquid chromatography
(HPLC). Fatty acid distribution showed in breast and thigh meats, a higher
level of palmitic acid, compared to the breast and thigh skins. TBAR values
were significantly higher in all breast meats compared to skins. TBAR
values were significantly higher in thigh meat than in skin samples. HNE
concentrations (μg HNE/g fat) were significantly very low in breast skins
compared to breast meat. HNE concentration was generally higher in thigh meat
than skin but not in every sample. In chicken nuggets, both the TBAR value and
HNE concentration were much higher from one establishment than from the two others. Chicken
nuggets TBAR and HNE concentrations resembled one of the chicken nugget
samples. The average toxic HNE concentration for 100 g fried chicken breast
(skins + meat) was 12.55 μg and for thighs (skin + meat) was 26.76 μg. The
average total HNE concentration was 2.1 times higher in the fried chicken
thighs than in the breasts. It is clear that HNE is produced during the heating
process of oils and incorporated into the fried meat and skin samples during
the frying process. If HNE, a toxic aldehyde, is consumed with the food, over
long periods of time it could be related to a number of pathological
conditions.