Dietary intake of heterocyclic amines, meat-derived mutagenic activity, and risk of colorectal adenomas.

High intake of well-cooked red meat promotes the development of colorectal adenomas.

Well-cooked red meat produces mutagens, such as heterocyclic amines (HCAs), but the quantity of HCAs produced depends on the cooking temperature, time, technique, and type of meat. This study investigated the role of HCAs in the development of colorectal adenomas. Researchers analyzed data from mutagen database and responses from a validated meat cooking questionnaire. The mutagenic activity of the three types of HCAs, DiMelQx, MelQx, and PhlP, was also examined in 374 subjects.

Researchers observed that high intake of well-cooked red meat increased the risk of developing colorectal adenomas. Furthermore, of the three types of HCAs, MelQx had the most potent mutagenic activity. These results show that high consumption of well-cooked red meat elevates colorectal adenoma risk.