New tools in modulating Maillard reaction from model systems to food

New tools in modulating Maillard reaction from model systems to food

The Maillard reaction (MR) supervises the final quality of foods and occupies a prominent place in food science. The first stable compounds, the Amadori rearrangement products (APs) and Heyns rearrangement products (HPs), represent the key molecules from which a myriad of reactions takes place and each of them contributes to the formation of Maillard reaction end-products (MRPs) or advanced glycation end products (AGEs).

Several papers have dealt with the control of the MR in foods ranging from the thermal loading reduction, to the use of alternative process technologies, reactants impact or enzymes, as well as to the monitoring of the end-products formation by multiresponse modeling. The strategies used up to now aim at common goals: the reduction of potentially toxic compounds and the promotion of desired molecules formation as well as flavor, aroma, color and texture attributes. In other words the ultimate target is the promotion of food quality by tuning the MR.

This thesis introduces four alternative strategies that are able to control the final extent of the MR in foods.

The possibility to segregate reactants by encapsulating some minor components and thus delaying the MR was highlighted in Chapter 2. The encapsulation of sodium chloride, ascorbic acid, PUFA and iron inside hydrophobic capsules was used as a possible example: the core material release over the time delayed the reaction rates.

The results obtained through the treatment with the enzyme fructosamine oxidase (Faox) I and II which is able to deglycate free Amadori products and capitalize the local unfolding of lysine peptide bound residues were reported in Chapter 3. Data showed that Faox can reduce the formation ofNε-(Carboxymethyl)-L-lysine and bound hydroxymethylfurfural in model system and in low lactose milk.

The effects obtained with the addition of spray-dried olive oil mill wastewaters in milk was illustrated in Chapter 4. This ingredient acts as a source of phenylethanoids, which can trap a-hydroxycarbonyls and a-dicarbonyls and can form adducts with amino groups after the oxidation of phenolic rings into quinone. The use of this functional ingredient before milk thermal treatment resulted in a reduction of off-flavor, reactive carbonyls species and bound MRPs.

The possibilities offered by the location of MR reactants in microemulsion was investigated in Chapter 5. The oil/water partition coefficient of amino acids played a key role in the formation of Amadori compounds. The anchoring effect of tricaprylin and Tween 20 toward aliphatic amino acids in microemulsion systems was evaluated and compared to a control aqueous solution of amino acids and glucose. Results confirmed the hypothesis: the higher the partition coefficient the lower the formation of aliphatic amino acids Amadori compounds.

All of the four proposed strategies involved location and interaction of reagents, reactants, intermediates and final products. As a result each strategy depicted a specific route for the control of the final extent of the MR.  Many steps are still necessary to scale up these methodologies into the food production chain, however new ways for obtaining foods of superior quality have been paved.