Scanlan R A
Cancer Res. 1983 May;43(5 Suppl):2435s-2440s.
Nitrosamines are formed by reaction of secondary or tertiary amines with a nitrosating agent. In foods, the nitrosating agent is usually nitrous anhydride, formed from nitrite in acidic, aqueous solution. Food constituents and the physical make-up of the food can effect nitrosamine formation. Ascorbic acid and sulfur dioxide are used to inhibit nitrosamine formation in foods. Nitrosodimethylamine has been shown to be formed in certain foods as a result of the direct-fire drying process. In this case, oxides of nitrogen in the drying air nitrosate amines in the food being dried. The volatile nitrosamine which occurs most commonly in food is nitrosodimethylamine, and nitrosopyrrolidine occurs to a lesser extent. Due to limitations in analytical methodology, very little information is available on the levels of nonvolatile nitrosamines and other N-nitroso compounds in foods. Foods which have been shown to contain volatile nitrosamines include cured meats, primarily cooked bacon; beer; some cheeses; nonfat dry milk; and sometimes fish. It should be emphasized that not all samples analyzed contain detectable amounts of nitrosamines. When present, the volatile nitrosamines usually occur in the lower microgram/kg range. Estimates by several investigators suggest that the average daily intake of volatile nitrosamines from foods is approximately 1 microgram/person.
亚硝胺是由仲胺或叔胺与亚硝化剂反应形成的。在食品中，亚硝化剂通常是酸的水溶液中的亚硝酸盐形成的亚硝酸酐。食品成分和食品的物理组成会影响亚硝胺的形成。抗坏血酸和二氧化硫用于抑制食品中亚硝胺的形成。已证明在某些食品中，由于直接火烤干燥过程会形成二甲基亚硝胺。在这种情况下，干燥空气中的氮氧化物会使正在干燥的食品中的胺发生亚硝化。食品中最常见的挥发性亚硝胺是二甲基亚硝胺，亚硝基吡咯烷的含量较少。由于分析方法的局限性，关于食品中非挥发性亚硝胺和其他N-亚硝基化合物的含量信息非常少。已证明含有挥发性亚硝胺的食品包括腌制肉类，主要是熟培根；啤酒；一些奶酪；脱脂奶粉；有时还有鱼类。应该强调的是，并非所有分析的样品都含有可检测量的亚硝胺。如果存在，挥发性亚硝胺通常以较低的微克/千克范围出现。几位研究人员的估计表明，食物中挥发性亚硝胺的平均每日摄入量约为每人1微克。
