Amadori products formation in emulsified systems

The formation of Amadori products (APs) is the key step determining the development of the Maillard reaction (MR). The information on the chemical behaviour of the reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars in emulsions during thermal treatments is scanty and mainly focused on volatile compounds. The aim of this work was to investigate the formation of APs from glucose and two amino acids with different partition coefficients (phenylalanine and leucine) in emulsions. Two submicron oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions consisting of water, tricaprylin and Tween 20 were prepared, thermally treated and the formation of fructose-phenylalanine (Fru-Phe) and fructose-leucine (Fru-Leu) was monitored by mass spectrometry. The concentration of Fru-Phe in submicron emulsions was similar to that in water, while Fru-Leu was reduced up to 47% in the emulsions. These data indicated that partition coefficient of amino acids, determining the reactants location, can substantially influence the MR and the final quality of foods.