News Release:
Cancer research serves up some sizzling secrets
| Date 13/2/04 No 029/04 Research at the University of New England is providing a deeper understanding of how chemicals produced in cooking meat and fish can cause cancer. "It's all in the 'browning' that develops on meat and fish during the cooking of grilled, pan-fried or barbecued meals," said Professor Mike Novak, who is at UNE on sabbatical leave from the United States. "All the evidence indicates that simple measures to reduce the amount of such 'browning' would be a good idea," Professor Novak said. "Although such figures are only informed estimates, it's thought that up to 20,000 new cancer cases a year in the United States could be related to this process. Proportionally, this would mean about 1,500 cases in Australia." The safety measures he recommends are cooking at a lower heat, turning the food more frequently during the cooking process, and removing over-browned surface layers before eating. "I still enjoy a barbecue," said Professor Novak, who has been investigating chemical carcinogens since 1979. In fact, a barbecue in progress at his rented Armidale home was the cover photograph for the December 26 (2003) issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Organic Chemistry, in which he published his latest research findings. |
Mike Novak is Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. During his year-long stay in Armidale, he is collaborating with UNE's Associate Professor Stephen Glover, who shares his research interest in chemical mutagens and carcinogens. Professor Novak said that it was during a previous sabbatical year of collaboration with Dr Glover at UNE (in 1993-94) that he started working on the carcinogenic potential of chemicals produced in the cooking of high-protein food. "These chemicals ('heterocyclic amines') come from the food itself," he explained. "They're derived from proteins and amino acids, and produce carcinogens when metabolised in the body. Our work has clarified the chemistry of what happens after they're eaten." Scientists have been aware of a link between these chemicals and cancer since the 1970s, and the link has been established experimentally in animals. While enzymes within threatened cells help to protect them from carcinogens, the level of such protection varies among individuals. "Generally, however, the enzymes are so effective at restoring damaged DNA that not all potentially harmful chemicals, by any means, are going to cause cancer," Professor Novak said. Media contact: Call (in office hours) Professor Mike Novak on (02) 6773 5130 or Associate Professor Stephen Glover on (02) 6773 2361 (both in UNE's School of Biological, Biomedical and Molecular Sciences), or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE, Armidale (02) 6773 3049. A photograph of Professor Novak is available for download. |
