The effects of different cooking methods and spices on the formation of 11 HCAs in chicken wing and pork belly

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds formed when cooking meats, such as chicken and pork. In this study, the effect of different cooking methods (air frying, infrared cooker, pan frying, and electric oven) and spices (rosemary, turmeric, and garlic) on the formation of 11 HCAs (IQ, MelQ, MelQx, 4,8-DiMelQx, PhIP, AαC, MeAαC, Trp-P-1, Trp-P-2, Harman, and Norharman) in chicken wing and pork belly were determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography−triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, and the physicochemical characteristics of the cooked meats were compared. The effect of air frying temperatures and times on the 11 HCAs formation was also investigated. Pan-fried chicken wing and pork belly lost less moisture and weight than the other samples. Air frying resulted in the lowest contents of 11 HCAs compared to pan frying, cooking in an electric oven, and infrared cooking, regardless of meat type. For example, 11 HCAs levels in air-fried chicken wings were 4.35 μg/kg, with the inhibition rate of 75.29% comparing with pan-fried chicken wings (17.61 μg/kg). HCAs formation depended on air frying temperatures and times. For example, the HCAs contents in chicken wing air-fried at 200 °C for 20 min (2.98 μg/kg) increased by 2.8 times compared to chicken wing air-fried at 140 °C for 50 min (1.08 μg/kg). Additionally, all spices showed an inhibitory effect on HCA formation. Especially, turmeric exhibited the highest inhibitory effect on the formation of HCAs by 50.67%. These results indicate that air frying and spices could inhibit the formation of HCAs during the thermal preparation of meats.