Effect of different roasting time on the formation of free and bound heterocyclic aromatic amines in roasted beef

This study examined how varying roasting times influenced the formation of free and bound heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) in beef during the roasting process. The findings showed that as the roasting time increased, the water content and color decreased ( P  < 0.05), whereas glucose, creatine, and creatinine levels increased ( P  < 0.05) from 0.05 to 2.45, 2.68–4.96, and 0.07–0.91 mg/g, respectively. A total of 7 free HAAs (IQx, MeIQx, MeIQ, PhIP, 4,8-DiMeIQx, Harman, and Norharman) and 5 bound HAAs (MeIQx, AαC, 7,8-DiMeIQx, Harman, and Norharman) were detected in the roasted beef by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The bound HAA content in the roasted beef was significantly higher than that of the free HAAs. As the roasting time increased, the bound HAAs increased from 2125.08 to 2326.45 ng/g, while the free HAAs increased from 45.72 to 121.38 ng/g ( P  < 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed that the development of free and bound HAAs was positively associated with glucose, creatine, and creatinine, and the FAAs were positively correlated with the formation of MeIQx through partial least squares regression (PLSR) analysis. These findings would help minimize the development of free and bound HAAs in roasted meat products.