Toxic compounds and antinutritional factors in foods: a review

Toxic compounds and antinutritional factors are present in food. These compounds, which can be naturally occurring or arise due to technological, storage, or transportation processes, have the potential to bioaccumulate and cause acute or chronic toxicity, in addition to having adverse cellular, metabolic, and systemic effects. To mention a few, these are cyanogenic glycosides present in almonds and cassava, among others; alkaloids, which include glycoalkaloids from solanaceous plants and pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are mainly found in angiosperm plant families: Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Fabaceae, Orchidaceae, and Apocynaceae; and lectins found in legumes and other vegetables. Other compounds include amines, heterocyclic aromatic amines, furan and furanocoumarins, as well as some inorganic compounds such as nitrates and nitrites, and some heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, and arsenic. Mechanisms of toxicity include blockage of critical enzymes, oxidative damage, interference with nutrient absorption, and genotoxic and carcinogenic processes. Techniques for detecting these compounds in food include the use of gas chromatography with mass spectrometry, spectrophotometry, and immunochemical methods, mainly. Quantifying these substances is essential for establishing regulatory thresholds and preventing acute and chronic poisoning. This review lists the main toxic and antinutritional compounds in food, chemical–analytical techniques for their detection and quantification, as well as some chemical structures of these compounds, seeking to provide an overview that will aid in the prevention and management of risks associated with the ingestion of these compounds.