Assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in alcoholic beverages consumed in Awka, Southeast Nigeria

The aim of this investigation was to assess the presence of 16 PAHs (naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, anthracene, phenanthrene fluoranthene, benz[a]anthracene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene, benzo[ghi]perylene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene with symbols Nap, Ace, Ane, Flu, Ant, Phe, Flt, BaA, Pyr, Chr, BbF, BkF, BaP, DahA, BghiP and InP, respectively) in alcoholic beverages consumed in Awka, Southeast Nigeria. The samples used were sourced from international, national, and local-based alcoholic beverages sold in Nigeria, which were analysed for the 16 priority PAHs components using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) in order to quantify and offer advice to the public on the health implications of consuming these alcoholic beverages. The results show the absence of all the PAHs in all the alcoholic beverages, which could be due to lower temperature and shorter production duration utilized in the production process. This is because during the intense heating of raw materials or additives, PAHs are released. Therefore, the consumption of these alcoholic beverages is safe for consumers and poses no health risk that is detrimental to adults or children. As such, further research into other micropollutants and toxins is advocated to maintain current good manufacturing practices for quality. KEY WORDS: Alcoholic beverages, Food analysis, Public health, PAHs, GC-FID, Southeast Nigeria Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2023, 37(4), 805-815. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v37i4.1