Abstract
Background: Our daily diets include a wide variety of vegetable oils around the world. Through a systematic review and meta-analysis, our study assessed the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in several vegetable oils (corn, sunflower, olive, soybean, sesame, and canola). Methods: A search of major international databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus was conducted to find published studies on PAHs in vegetable oil between 12/May/1986 and 20/ Jun /2021. Results: In the results of 13 research articles, out of 713 retrieved studies, the most PAHs found in corn, sunflower, olive, sesame, soybean and canola were flouranthene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, phenanthrene, benz [a] anthracene , naphthalene and pyrene, respectively. While the lowest concentration of PAHs in mentioned oils was associated with benzo [b]flouranthene, benzo [b]flouranthene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo [b]flouranthene, acenaphthene and benzo(g,h,i)perylene, respectively. According to the continent type, PAHs in vegetable oils were found in countries of the European Region (EURO), Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO), and Western Pacific Region (WPRO) regions. Discussion and Conclusion: According to the findings, there is a country-to-country variation in the carcinogenetic and mutagenic risks of PAHs. As a result, vegetable oils pose no threat to human health.