Sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by dietary fiber extracted from wheat bran

Abstract The unintentional ingestion of carcinogenic xenobiotic substances leads to the high risk of cancer. Dietary fiber (DF) may protect against cancer by sorbing such chemicals. To this end, the sorption of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to DF extracted from wheat bran (WB) was studied. The strong affinity of PAHs to DF and WB indicated the effective binding of PAHs, and their distribution coefficients (Kd) positively increased with the increase in hydrophobicity of the PAHs. The DF had much higher Kd values for all PAHs compared to those of the unprocessed WB. The DF extraction process removed hydrophilic residues, such as starch, from WB, and increased the roughness of DF surface. Loss of hydrophilic components from WB to DF led to much higher affinity of DF with PAHs than WB. The results indicate that the DF can effectively sorb and remove xenobiotics, thereby having the potential to lower carcinogenic risk to humans.