scholarly journals Levels of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Beers: Consumption and Public Health Concerns

Author(s):  
V. N. Okafor ◽  
U. B. Uche ◽  
R. C. Abailim

Aim: The aim is to investigate some physicochemical properties of beers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons contaminants in beer brewed with isomerized hop extract and in comparison with beers brewed with extracts from four Nigerian potential hop substitutes. Study Design: Beers were brewed using isomerized hop extract and extracts from four Nigerian bitter vegetables. Analyses of physicochemical properties of the beers and for the presence of 16 specific target PAHs were carried out using their respective standard methods. Place and Duration of Study: Analysis of physicochemical properties of the beers was done at Nigerian Breweries PLC, Enugu while analysis for PAHs was conducted at Central Laboratory, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, Lagos between July, 2018 and November, 2019. Methodology: Physicochemical properties of the beers (alcohol content, bitterness level, pH, specific gravity, colour) were determined using their respective standard methods. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used in analyzing for PAHs [naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene and benzo(g,h,i)perylene]. Four isotopically labelled PAHs (acenaphthene-d10, phenanthrene-d10, chrysene-d12 and perylene-d12) were used as internal standards. Results: Alcohol content (%v//v) in the beer samples is A(5.20); B(4.28); C(4.40); D(4.43) and E(4.54), bitterness level in International Bitterness Units (IBU) is A(0.54); B(0.80); C(1.46); D(1.46) and E(0.08), pH is A(4.36); B(3.08); C(3.88); D(3.90) and E(3.87), specific gravity is A(10.06); B(10.00); C(10.00); D(10.06) and E(10.06), and beer colour is A(5.80); B(7.70); C(6.60); D(8.00) and E(7.40). All 16 EPA PAHs were not found in all the beer samples except pyrene which was detected in sample B at a concentration of 0.00402 mg/kg. Conclusion: It is concluded that extracts from the four Nigerian bitter vegetables could be used as substitutes for isomerized hop extract and that consumption of beer produced using extract from G. kola poses great public health concerns.

Author(s):  
Jeehyun Yang ◽  
Mica C. Smith ◽  
Matthew Brian Prendergast ◽  
Te-Chun Chu ◽  
William H. Green

The formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during combustion has a substantial impact on environmental pollution and public health. The hydrogen-abstraction-acetylene-addition (HACA) mechanism is expected to be a significant source...


Author(s):  
Idris Umar Zungum ◽  
Tijjani Sabiu Imam

There is a sustained rise in incidence of cancer and toxicity related to chemicals exerting enormous burden to public health and biodiversity. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are mong such contaminants, precisely the sixteen-priority characterized by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Therefore, this review is aimed at further elaboration about the 16 USEPA characterized PAHs and threat portend to public health and biodiversity. PAHs are a class of very stable organic pollutants produced most commonly, by incomplete combustion of fossil fuel and are formed when complex organic substances are exposed to heat. PAHs in great amount due to build up over time by bioaccumulation can be perilous: to human beings of all age and levels, aquatic organisms, amphibians and reptiles. The soil like the aquatic environment contains substantial quantity of PAHs since, atmospheric PAHs sediments on the soil due to dry and wet deposition, terrestrial organism are impacted if the soil is saturated with PAHs. Therefore, PAHs are a great source of trepidation for food safety, public health and biodiversity sustenance. Hence, tackling the spade of the menacing ubiquity of PAHs becomes necessary from its sources by encouragement of alternatives to petroleum fuels for machines and vehicles.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 524-528
Author(s):  
Akbar Ali ◽  
Zafar Iqbal ◽  
Zaffar Iqbal

Predicting physicochemical properties of molecules is one of the fundamental tasks in chemical physics. Many predictive methods have been developed for correlating the molecular structures with their physicochemical properties. One of the simplest such methods involves topological indices. Edge connectivity index (or equivalently, reformulated Randić index), which is denoted as ε, seems to be a good topological index for predicting the solvent accessible molecular volume and molar refraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In this paper, a closed-form formula for calculating the reformulated Randić index ε of benzenoid hydrocarbon chains (or simply, benzenoid chains, which represent a type of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) is derived. Benzenoid chains with maximum (and minimum) ε value are also determined from the collection of all benzenoid chains having fixed number of hexagonal rings. Moreover, an attempt is made to generalize the obtained results for reformulated bond incident degree indices.


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