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. 2025 Jul 7;15(1):24267.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-03807-w.

Health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds (PAHs) in grilled meats in Zahedan city of Iran

Parisa Rigi  1 , Hossein Kamani  2 , Hossein Ansari  3 , Leili Mohammadi  4 , Abdollah Dargahi  5
Affiliations

Health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds (PAHs) in grilled meats in Zahedan city of Iran

Parisa Rigi et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large group of organic pollutants composed of two or more benzene rings. PAHs have attracted widespread attention due to their highly carcinogenic and mutagenic properties in humans. One of the ways PAHs enter the body is through the oral route. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the risk of PAHs through the oral route in the study area. In this research, which was a descriptive-analytical study, 150 samples of kebabs (grilled chicken, leaf kebab, and shredded kebab) were collected from Zahedan city. After preparing the samples to determine the concentration of 16 PAHs, the samples were analyzed using gas chromatography. A Mass spectrometer was used, and then, using the relevant formulas, the health risk caused by these compounds was assessed. Hazard Quotient (HQ) and non-carcinogenic risk index (HI) based on the type of oven and the type of meat were less than one in both children and adults. On the other hand, the risk of carcinogenicity in charcoal ovens was higher than in gas ovens. Also, the risk of carcinogenicity in red meat was higher than in white meat. The total risk in both groups (children and adults) was negligible (< 10-6). Since the health risk in charcoal ovens is higher than gas ovens, therefore, less use of charcoal ovens should be cultured for the general public. Also, according to the findings of this study, the health risk of consuming red meat is higher than white meat. Therefore, it is recommended to reduce the consumption of red meat compared to white meat.

Keywords: Grilled meat; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; Risk assessment; Zahedan city.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Institutional review board statement: The study protocol was approved by Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (Ethical code: IR.ZAUMS.REC.1398.400).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Geographical location of the sampling area.
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