The Senate Commission on Food Safety (SKLM) of the German Research Foundation (DFG), of which Prof Michael Hellwig and Prof Thomas Henle from the Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry at TUD Dresden University of Technology are members, has conducted a systematic review study to investigate the effects of glycation compounds (also known as AGEs, Advanced Glycation Endproducts) in heated food on human health. The results of this study show that there are no scientifically verifiable links between the intake of glycation products and negative influences on health. The work was recently published in the journal ‘Critical Reviews in Toxicology’.

Wrinkled skin, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and much more - according to various health platforms, people are exposed to these risks through the excessive consumption of heated or highly processed foods. However, the scientific validity of these statements is disputed.

The SKLM team of experts has now addressed this question in a systematic review. Prof Michael Hellwig and Prof Thomas Henle from TUD were also involved in the study. Specifically, the researchers focused on the connection between the intake of so-called glycation products and negative influences on health. Glycation (also known as the Maillard reaction or non-enzymatic browning) is a chemical reaction, particularly of proteins with carbohydrates. It occurs, among other things, when food is heated, where it significantly influences the color and flavor of food, for example the brown crust of bread. There is also endogenous glycation, which takes place in the human body and is intensified, for example, by the increased blood sugar level in diabetes.

The substances formed during glycation are called glycation products or AGEs (Advanced Glycation Endproducts). In recent years, numerous animal and human studies have attempted to identify links between the intake of glycation products and adverse health effects, such as inflammatory processes, heart and kidney disease and diabetes. The basis for these studies was the assumption that endogenously formed glycation compounds contribute to a number of diseases. This has led to the hypothesis that glycation compounds contained in food may also have harmful effects and therefore pose a dietary risk to human health.

However, studies attempting to assess an association between dietary glycation compounds and adverse health effects frequently suffer from insufficient chemical analysis of glycation compounds, including inadequate structural characterization and limited quantitative data.  The expert team's work summarised data on the formation, occurrence, exposure and toxicity of glycation compounds and systematically assessed possible associations between dietary intake of certain glycation compounds and disease, including allergies, diabetes, cardiovascular and renal disease, gut/gastrotoxicity, brain/cognitive disorders and cancer. Based on this systematic review, the researchers conclude that there is currently no convincing evidence of a causal relationship between dietary intake of glycation compounds and adverse health effects.

‘The use of inadequate analytical methods as a basis for estimating the intake of individual glycation products and the over-interpretation of toxicological studies, in which glycation products are used in sometimes extremely high doses that cannot be achieved with conventional preparation methods, are generally problematic. So far, we have not been able to identify any convincing structure-activity relationships to derive defined toxicological effects of individual compounds. Future studies must be based on sound analytical methods, such as those established in the Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry and which are constantly being further developed,’ explains Michael Hellwig, Professor of Special Food Chemistry at TU Dresden.

Original publication:

Hellwig, M., Diel, P., Eisenbrand, G., Grune, T., Guth, S., Henle, T., […] Mally, A. (2024). Dietary glycation compounds – implications for human health. Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 54(8), 485–617. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408444.2024.2362985

Contact:
Prof. Michael Hellwig
Chair of Special Food Chemistry
Tel. +49(0)351-463-32006
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