An Investigation On The Effects Of Taking Out Fast Food Consumption On Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure For College Students

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)have been reported by many studies as the common organic pollutants in food.For the non-occupational exposure population,diet injection is the predominant way for PAHs entering human body.Exposure to PAHs may cause carcinogenic,teratogenic,and mutagenic effects on humans.With the rapid development of the Internet,takeaway food becomes human diet habits,and more and more people rely on consuming takeaway food because of their convenience.However,there are large numbers of food safety problems behind takeaway food that would exacerbate PAH exposure and threaten human health.In response to these concerns,297 volunteers were recruited from Jinan University and South China Normal University in 2019,and 277 valid samples had been detected the concentrations of PAH metabolites in their urine.Then we determined the urinary concentration level of 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine(8-OHd G),combined with questionnaire information,to investigate the relationship between takeaway food consumption frequency,takeaway packaging,and takeaway food and PAHs exposure or DNA oxidative damage.The results showed that plastic cans are the most commonly used packaging materials for takeaway food.Fried dishes,soups and beverages were the most popular takeaway meals.The consumption level of college students was 15-25 RMB for one meal.The frequency of consuming takeaway food was divided into three groups: low-frequency group(0-6times/week),mid-frequency group(7-13 times/week)and high-frequency group(14-21times/week).In addition,the eating frequency was higher in those who had longer takeaway food consumption history.In any case,takeaway food has gradually become one of the important eating habits for college students.In urine,the total concentration of PAH metabolites was 0.171-98.6 ng/m L,and the geometric mean and median values were 3.19 and 3.35 ng/m L,respectively.For 2-hydroxynaphthalene(2-NAP),1-hydroxynaphthalene(1-NAP),2-hydroxyfluorene(2-FLU),2-hydroxyphenanthrene(2-PHE),3-hydroxyphenanthrene(3-PHE),1-Hydroxyphenanthrene(1-PHE),and 1-Hydroxypyrene(1-PYR),the detection rates were 91-100%,and only 4-hydroxyphenanthrene(4-PHE)had a detection rate of 43 %.Through generalized linear regression model,significant differences were observed in concentrations of 1-NAP,2-FLU,2-PHE,1-PHE and ∑8OH-PAH between the low-frequency group and mid-frequency group(p < 0.05).Specially,concentrations of 1-PYR in the mid-frequency group and the highfrequency group were significantly different from the lower frequency(p < 0.01),which indicated that the concentration of 1-PYR increased with the frequency of taking take-out food increasing.Exposure to PAHs might lead to oxidative stress in the human body.DNA oxidative damage is a typical type of oxidative stress,and 8-OHd G is an important biomarker of DNA oxidative damage.Researchers often determine the degree of DNA oxidative damage by measuring the urinary concentration of 8-OHd G.In this study,the concentration of 8-OHd G was 0.64-34.7 ng/m L,and the average and median values were 7.21±4.31 and 6.87 ng/m L respectively.The detected concentration of 8-OHd G was lower than the normal level in general population.Furthermore,we found that urinary concentrations of individual OH-PAHs were significantly associated with each other or 8-OHd G.At the same time,combined with the information on takeaway behavior and the concentration of PAH metabolites,it was found that consuming takeaway food can enhance the tendency of DNA oxidative damage through PAH exposure.