多環芳香族碳氫化合物 (PAHs) 由木材或石油燃燒不完全所形成。PAHs 廣泛的分布於自然界的環境且有可能污染到食品，因此 PAHs 亦為相當重要的毒性化合物。本文主要對於食品中 PAHs 的分析、形成與抑制作一綜合回顧與討論。一般萃取食品中 PAHs 的方法都是以 Soxhlet 法萃取油脂並進行皂化， 再以 Sep-Pak Florisil cartridge 進行純化後再進行分配，此法較超音波震盪法可除去更多雜質。以 HPLC 進行分析，使用梯度溶劑系統配合紫外光波長 (254 nm) 或七段式的營光激發 / 放射波長可同步分離偵測 16 種 PAHs;以 GC 進行分析，使用梯度溫度系統和火焰解離偵檢器 (FID) 或離子捕捉質譜儀 (ITD) 亦可同步分離偵測 16 種 PAHs。 HPLC 可以完全分離 16 種 PAHs，但食品中所含的雜質會干擾到 PAHs 的分離鑑定; GC 無法完全分離某些 PAHs 的異構物， 但使用 GC-ITD 卻可輕易鑑定出食品中的 PAHs，且不會受到不純物質的干擾。碳烤與煙燻為兩種會導致致癌性 PAHs大量形成的主要加工方法， 使用蒸氣和液燻則未發現有致癌性 PAHs 的形成。 食品中的PAHs 亦可使用聚乙烯塑膠袋吸附的方法去除。 更多的研究必須進行以防止食品於加工過程中 PAHs 的形成。

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formed through incomplete combustion or pyrolysis of wood or gasoline, represents an important class of toxicological compounds because of its wide distribution in the environment and possible contamination of foods. This paper deals with an overview of analysis, formation and inhibition of PAHs in foods. Extraction of PAHs from food is routinely conducted by saponification of lipid with Soxhlet method, followed by purification with a Sep-Pak Florisil cartridge and partition. This method can remove more impurities than the sonication method. With HPLC, all 16 PAHs can be simultaneously separated by a gradient solvent system and detected by UV at 254 nm or fluorescence employing programmable wavelength with seven settings of excitation / emission. With GC, all 16 PAHs can also be simultaneously separated by a temperature programming method and detected by flame ionization detector (FID) or ion-trap mass detector (ITD). Although HPLC can provide adequate separation of 16 PAHs, nevertheless, the presence of impurities in food sample can interfere with the subsequent identification and separation. For GC, a number of isomeric PAHs partially overlap. Nonetheless, the application of GC-ITD can readily identify the various PAHs in foods through reconstructed ion chromatograms even in the presence of fat- or PAH-like impurities. Charcoal-grilling and smoking are the two major processing methods which can result in the formation of high amount of total carcinogenic PAHs. No carcinogenic PAHs are detected in steaming and liquid smoke flavoring. The amout of PAHs in food samples can also be greatly reduced by sorption into lowdensity polyethylene bags. Further research in necessary to determine how the formation of PAHs during processing can be directly retarded or eliminated.