Kinetics of Heterocyclic Amines Formation in Meat Emulsion at Different Fat Contents

The objectives of the study were to investigate the yield of heterocyclic amines (HA) in meat emulsion during heating as in cooking at different temperatures using the kinetic modeling approach and to determine the influence of fat content on the formation of HAs. Meat emulsion with two different fat contents namely extra lean (6 g/100 g) and regular (19 g/100 g) were used in the study. The samples were heated at 160, 180 and 200°C for times, varying from 5 to 40 mins. HAs namely IQx, MeIQx, and PhIP were identified and quantified using the HPLC. Formation of HAs was dependent on temperature, time, and fat content. It followed the first-order kinetics. Increasing fat content of samples resulted in lower HAs concentrations and lower activation energy of reaction. Fat enhanced formation of HAs in meat but apparently diluted available precursors for reactions.