Electrochemical Aspects of the Maillard Reaction and Related Reactions

Abstract

The Maillard reaction of amino acids and reducing sugars is important for food flavor formation and for the biological aging of living organisms. The redox nature of the reaction is examined by measurement of open-circuit galvanic cell potentials and by electrolytic methods, including polarography and amperometry. Electrochemical detectors (ECDs) designed on the basis of voltammetric principles are employed as useful tools for the detection and quantification of Maillard intermediates and final products. Galvanic potentials serve as useful indicators for highly reactive compounds such as reductones, whereas more stable intermediates such as Amadori compounds and pyranones are more readily analyzed by ECD/high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques. Electrochemical methods provide valuable noninvasive probes to follow the course of the Maillard reaction and for investigating its mechanism.

Keywords:

• Amadori
• Electrochemical detectors
• Electrochemistry
• Maillard
• Polarography
• Redox