Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Kolanuts (Cola nitida Schott & Amp; Endl) Daily Intake Exposure Risk from Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are pervasive environmental pollutants of high toxicity. Due to their lipophilic characteristics, they tend to accumulate in the food chain. Human exposure to PAHs seems inevitable and the main route of exposure is food. The presence of PAHs in kolanut could cause serious health problem for consumers and slow down the export to new markets, which would constitute a significant shortfall for all actors in the kola sector.This study aimed to detrmined the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) levels in kolanuts and estimate the exposure risks of nuts consumption by Ivorian population. Samples were collected from farmers, rural collectors, urban stores in districts (Mountains, Comoe, Lagoons, Down-Sassandra) and big storage centers of Anyama and Bouake cities. Concentrations of 9 PAHs (B[a]P, B[b]F, B[a]A, CHR, FLA, B[k]F, D[ah]A, B[ghi]P and IcdP) were measured using an Adept brand High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC) equipped with an ultraviolet (UV) / visible CE 4200 (CECIL) detector. Data showed the average concentration of PAHs in kolanuts at 1.22 ± 0.86 µg/kg. The PAHs concentrations expressed in BaP equivalent (BaPeq) ranging from 0.0009 ± 0.0003 µg/kg-BaPeq to 0.88 ± 0.24 µg/kg-BaPeq for B[ghi] P and D[ah]A. Based on the concentrations and the daily consumption of kolanuts estimated at 0.6 g/person in Côte d'Ivoire, the intakes values estimated of PAHs vary from 6.10-5 µg-BaPeq /day to 6.48.10-4 µg-BaPeq/day with an average of 3.06.10-4 ± 6.6.10-5 µg-BaPeq/day. The exposure daily doses (EDD) are all lower than the toxicity reference values (5 ng-BaPeq/kg BW/d). Thus, the occurrence of a toxic effect from PAHs after kolanuts consumption is very unlikely since the hazard quotient (HQ) are all less than 1. The risk of developing cancer is less than one case per 1,000,000 people.