Detoxification of heterocyclic aromatic amines from grilled meat using a PEITC-rich vegetable sauce: a randomized crossover controlled trial

Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) including PhIP and MeIQx are potential carcinogens found mainly in well-done meat. Consuming brassica vegetables was shown to promote metabolisms of HAAs due to the action of isothiocyanates. Previous in vivo studies showed that phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) was a potent stimulator of phase II detoxification enzymes. Nevertheless, the clinical effect of PEITC-rich vegetables on detoxification of HAAs in grilled meat was unknown. This research aimed to investigate the effect of a PEITC-rich vegetable sauce on the detoxification of HAAs in healthy people consuming grilled meat. A randomized crossover placebo-controlled trial was conducted in twenty-one healthy participants. They were randomly assigned into three groups. The participants consumed a single meal of grilled beef with 100 g of the placebo sauce and 100 g and 50 g of the vegetable sauce. All participants consumed all sauces in an alternating random sequence. After de-conjugation with beta-glucuronidase, the HAA metabolites in urine were measured by using LC/MS-MS. Compared to the placebo sauce, consuming grilled beef with 100 g of the vegetable sauce increased the urinary excretion of both PhIP and MeIQx glucuronide metabolites (p-value <0.0001), while consuming 50 g of the sauce significantly increased only MeIQx metabolites (p-value <0.05). The findings of this study suggested that consuming grilled meat with 100 g of the PEITC-rich vegetable sauce could increase the urinary excretion of PhIP and MeIQx glucuronide metabolites. Since meat eaters usually consume a low amount of vegetables, the PEITC-rich vegetable sauce could be an alternative approach to provide detoxification benefits from vegetable-derived compounds.