Determination of Polycyclic Arimatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) on Foods using Numerous Extraction Methods: A Review

Abstract

Premla DeviChander, Chai Mee Kin

College of Foundation and General Studies,

UniversitiTenagaNasional, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN,

43000 Kajang, Selangor.

Premla@uniten.edu.my     Fax:03-89287275

ABSTRACT

According to the European Union (EU) legislation, a strong attention has been focused on the presence of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) on the environment and also on foods. As known, the presence of PAH mainly on food leads to the activation of carcinogenic agent as the cause of the genotoxic and mutagenic production. Various analytical methods have been used to analyze the concentration of PAH on foods such as fruits and vegetables. The efficiency of PAH concentration on food samples depends on the types of extraction method implemented.The extraction methodswereAccelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE), QuEChERS (acronymic name from quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe)extraction,Supramolecular solvent extraction (SUPRAS),Ultrasonication Extraction, Soxhlet extraction method and Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction (DLLME). Most of the mentioned extraction methods use the High-Resolution Gas Chromatography (HRGC), High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to carry the analysis of PAH in fruits and vegetables. The percentage recoveries of each method have been discussed and it was known that SUPRAS showed the best result in percentage recovery and relative standard deviation.  In the present review, all the implemented extraction of PAHmethods on food were analyzed and discussed in terms of the advantages andthe limitations on each extraction methods as well as the analytical performances.

Keywords:PAH, Extraction Methods, Fruits and Vegetables.