Cereal Chem 44:539 - 550.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Studies of the Carbonyl Compounds Produced by Sugar-Amino Acid Reactions. I. Model Systems.

L. W. Rooney, A. Salem, and J. A. Johnson. Copyright 1967 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

The kind and quantity of carbonyl compounds produced by the reaction of amino acids with reducing sugars in an aqueous buffered solution and in a starch paste were studied. For the aqueous system, the solutions were buffered with acetate at pH 5.5 and heated for 12 hr. at 95 C. For the starch pastes, the amino acids and sugars were mixed with wheat starch to give a doughlike consistency, and the mixtures were baked in an oven for 30 min. at 430 F. The carbonyl compounds produced were extracted and quantitatively determined by chromatographic methods. The coloration and production of carbonyl compounds were attributed to the Maillard-type reaction in both model systems. Alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, and methionine produced mainly acetaldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, 2- methylbutanal, phenylacetaldehyde, and methional, respectively. In addition, smaller quantities of acetone, formaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and other carbonyl compounds were produced. Lysine, arginine, histidine, and tryptophan caused rapid and intense browning but did not produce significant quantities of specific carbonyl compounds. Glutamatic acid and proline caused relatively little browning and production of carbonyl compounds. The rate of browning and carbonyl compound formation changed with the kind of sugar. Xylose was most reactive, followed by glucose and maltose. Lysine, leucine, and isoleucine produced acceptable and pleasing aromas; phenylalanine and methionine produced unpleasant aromas.