Publication Date:
2021-05-27
Description:
This chapter discusses the Maillard reaction. Results of the many investigations into the mechanism of the Maillard reaction support one of two main theories. The first assumes the formation of glycosylamines that undergo the Amadori (or, for ketoses, the Heyns) rearrangement. The 1-amino-l-deoxyketose derivative (or 2-amino-2-de- oxyaldose derivative) formed may be dehydrated and cyclized to form furan derivatives, or it may enolize. In either case, intermediates that are readily transformed into brown compounds are formed. A third possibility is for the deoxy sugar derivative to react with more amino acid to form colored products. The many workers who have supported this mechanism found also that optimum conditions for occurrence of the Maillard reaction are (1) fairly low water content, (2) a pH of 7 to 10, and (3) a high temperature. Nevertheless, some reaction occurs under conditions far removed from these, but in the absence of moisture there is no reaction. The formation of an acyclic Schiff base as an initial step is not very likely, since replacement of the aldose by salicylaldehyde caused only a very small loss of amino groups. The second theory of the mechanism of the browning reaction is of recent origin and maintains that the browning reaction and the Maillard reaction are separate and distinct. Browning, according to this school of thought, is due to the effect of pH on the sugar and can occur over a wide range of pH, whereas the Maillard reaction proceeds only in alkaline media.
Type:
Article
,
PeerReviewed
Format:
text
DOI:
10.1016/S0096-5332(08)60223-4
