Effect of diet and gut environment on the gastrointestinal formation of N-nitroso compounds: A review

Diet is associated with the development of cancer in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, because dietary nitrate and nitrite are the main nitrosating agents that are responsible for the formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) when nitrosatable substrates, such as amine and amide, are present in the GI tract. However, whether the nitroso compounds become beneficial S-nitroso compounds or carcinogenic NOCs might depend on dietary and environmental factors including food stuffs, gastric acidity, microbial flora, and the mean transit time of digesta. This review focused on GI NOC formation and environmental risk factors affecting its formation to provide appropriate nutritional strategies to prevent the development of GI cancer.