Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons through consumption of some popular soft drink products in Nigeria

In this study, levels and types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in the commonly consumed soft drink products in  Nigeria. This was done to assess the possible human health risks associated with the long-term regular consumption of the soft drink products. Two batches of twelve samples of differently packaged soft drink products were obtained from Ile-Ife, Osun Sate, Nigeria. The PAHs were extracted by Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE) method using n-hexane as the extracting solvent, while the cleaned-up samples were analysed for their PAHs content using Gas Chromatography coupled with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID). The results obtained from the study indicated that seventeen PAHs could be detected from the soft drink samples at levels (μg/mL) that varied diversely among the soft drink samples. Pyrene had the highest level of prevalence while 2-methyl naphthalene had the lowest level of prevalence; it was present in only one sample. Levels of SPAHs were lowest in sample B while the least levels of SPAHs were found in sample F. The result indicated that B had a higher potential for carcinogenic risks from consumptionthan the other soft drink samples. The observed values of estimated Dietary Daily Intake (DDI) for the total PAHs and carcinogenic toxic equivalents (TEQ) in sample B were the highest indicating that there could be a higher risk of exposure and carcinogenic human health risk from regular consumption of B in preference to the other soft drink products.\r\nKey words: Soft drinks, Consumption, Health risks, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Nigeria