Effects of turmeric on reducing heterocyclic aromatic amines in Chinese tradition braised meat products and the underlying mechanism

Braised meat products are kinds of popular traditional meat food in China. However, current data on the formation of Amino‐carboline congeners Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) and the inhibitory methods in braised meat products are limited. In the present study, the inhibition effect of turmeric and curcumin on the formation of β‐carboline heterocyclic aromatic amines in braised meat were investigated. And the preliminary mechanism of curcumin inhibiting the formation of β‐carboline heterocyclic amines was also explored in the chemical model. The results indicated that 5% of turmeric could significantly inhibit the formation of harman (94.8%) and norharman (49.56%) in braised meat, and curcumin was one of the key active compound accounting for this effect. In the tryptophan model, 0.05 mmol of curcumin significantly inhibited the formation of norharman and harman by over 70% (p < .05). Further investigation indicated that curcumin inhibited the formation of β‐carboline heterocyclic amines mainly by inhibiting the formation of carbonyl compounds and 1,2,3,4‐Tetrahydro‐β‐carboline‐3‐carboxylic acid and scavenging β‐carboline HAAs. These results could provide a natural spice‐based method for reducing heterocyclic aromatic amines in Chinese tradition braised meat products.