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Nutritional Toxicity
Abbreviations: AHF, altered hepatic foci; AlkPase, alkaline phosphatase; ATPase, adenosine triphosphatase; B(a)P, benzo(a)pyrene; CO, coconut oil; DEN, diethylnitrosamine; FCO, fresh CO; G6Pase, glucose-6-phosphatase; GGT, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase; Gr, groups; GST-P, glutathione-S-transferase placental type; LPO, lipid peroxidation; PAH, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; RCO, repeatedly heated CO; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SCO, single-heated CO
Nutrition and diet as environmental factors and determinants of growth and body composition can contribute to the risk of human cancers(1-3). Evidence pertaining to the role of dietary factors in carcinogenesis comes from both epidemiological studies and laboratory experiments. Dietary fat has been known to cause cancer of different organs(4). Vegetable oils are a major source of fat intake, and have been used as a common medium for cooking since ages. The practice of repeated heating of edible oils is associated with adverse health effects(5). High-temperature cooking techniques such as grilling and pan frying are associated with increased risk of carcinogenicity(6) and genotoxicity(7,8). Repeatedly heated fat possesses mutagenic potential(9), and increase in mutagenicity is proportionally related to its frying time(10). A number of genotoxic responses caused by the dietary use of heated cooking oils have also been reported(7,11). Studies from different sources have indicated that the heating of the vegetable oils at high temperatures leads to the formation of compounds having the potential to cause cancers(8,12,13). The heat processing of the oils at high temperatures generates food contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a family of toxic and mild to potent carcinogenic chemicals(14,15). The epidemiological study done by Lopez-Abente et al.(16) suggested that individuals exposed to PAH are at the risk of developing cancers. Diet is the major non-occupational source of PAH for non-smokers(17), with meat, meat products, cereals, oils and fats being the principal sources(18).
Epidemiological studies have indicated that a high intake of saturated fat increases...