Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Popularly Known Commercial Brands of Soft drinks Sold in different Cities in Nigeria

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) represent a class of organic compounds with carbon and hydrogen structure, having 2 or more fussed ring. recently the environmental protection agency (USEPA) included sixteen of these PAHs compounds in its list of persistent organic Pollutants (POPs). PAHs compounds are of public interest because it has a unique characteristic of being carcinogenic, mutagenic and tetratogenic and to this effect contributes to 3.1x10 incremental life time of cancer risk which is major cause to the increased cancer death in Nigeria. The most widely known carcinogenic PAHs is Benzo(a)Pyrene which is considered as a suitable biomarker for it’s occurrence in food and other environmental samples.But recently, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) suggest that benzo(a) pyrene alone should not be the most suitable biomarker of carcinogenic PAHs but rather a total number of 8 heavy molecular weight PAHs namely;benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthrene, benzo(k)fluoranthrene, dibenz(a,h)anthracene, benzo(g,h,i) perelyne, and indeno(1,2,3-cd) pyrene was considered as a more suitable indicator for its occurrence and effect of PAH in food. Abstract: Concentrations and profiles of 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were determined in popular known commercial soft drinks sold in different cities (Aba, Abakiliki, Enugu, Onitsha, Owerri, and Porthacourt) in Nigeria using Hexane for Extraction and gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector for quantitative analysis. Physiochemical parameters such as pH was determined as a measure to assess the acidic strength of these drinks , the result obtained revealed the softdrink samples to be acidic with pH values of 2.40 in Onitsha to 2.48 in Abakiliki. Concentrations of the 13 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in these drinks ranged between 0.7631.26, 0.92-38.11, 9.82-14.54, 0.05-28.10, 0.04528.29, 9.6321.49 mg/mL for Aba, Abakiliki, Enugu, Onitsha, Owerri and Porthacourt respectively. The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon profiles indicate the dominance of four and five rings PAHs in these drinks.. The study further accessed the effect of the pH values for soft drinks samples and the result obtained revealed that acidic pH of the softdrink samples increased the levels of PAHs. Six (6) out of eight (8) carcinogenic polycyclic Aromatic hydrocarbon as classified by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was present in these drinks with concentration ranged from nd-28.29, nd-0.16, nd-11.85, nd26.62 nd-13.19, 19.93-31.96, for benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthrene, dibenz(a_h)anthracene, benzo(g_h_i)perylene respectively. With the exception of dibenzi(a_h)anthrancene, benzo(a)pyrene and chrysene, the concentration values for the carcinogenic PAHs were higher than the maximum limits of 22.10 set by USEPA for water in highly industrialized area in Nigeria. The carcinogenic risk assessment code(CRAC) was accessed in these drinks, based on the tenets of CRAC benzo(g_h_i)perylene was of high risk in soft drink samples purchased from Abakilikiwhich show that people living is such city who consumes this product on daily basis would be exposed to high risk of cancer.