acrylamide-reduction
Acrylamide reduction refers to strategies aimed at lowering the formation of acrylamide, a potentially harmful chemical compound that forms during high-temperature cooking of starchy plant-based foods through the Maillard reaction between asparagine and reducing sugars. In plant science, this research focuses on breeding or engineering crop varieties with altered amino acid and sugar profiles—particularly reduced free asparagine content—to minimize acrylamide precursors at the source. Understanding the biochemical pathways governing asparagine accumulation in cereal grains and tubers is therefore a key area of investigation for improving the safety of plant-derived food products.
PubMed · 2026-04-01
Scientists used gene editing (CRISPR) and chemical mutation to create wheat varieties that produce far less of a natural amino acid called asparagine. When baked into bread, toast, and biscuits, these wheats generate dramatically less acrylamide — a harmful chemical linked to cancer that forms when starchy foods are cooked at high heat.
Wheat with both TaASN1 and TaASN2 genes knocked out using CRISPR had 93% less free asparagine in the grain and produced acrylamide levels below detection in bread, with only 8% of normal acrylamide even after 4 minutes of toasting.
Biscuits made from the dual-gene CRISPR wheat showed a 93% reduction in acrylamide compared to the control, demonstrating the benefit extends beyond bread to other baked goods.
The gene-edited (CRISPR) wheat lines showed no reduction in crop yield over two years of field trials, while the chemically mutated (TILLING) lines achieved a 50% asparagine reduction but did suffer yield penalties.
