DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-048-1-0032

VLIV α-DIKARBONYLOVÝCH SLOUČENIN VZNIKAJÍCÍCH Z CUKRŮ NA KVALITU POTRAVIN / EFFECT OF α-DICARBONYL COMPOUNDS ORIGINATED FROM SUGARS ON FOOD QUALITY

Karel Cejpek¹, Anna Průšová¹, Zuzana Procházková¹

¹ Ústav analýzy potravin a výživy, VŠCHT Praha, Technická 5, 166 28 Praha 6 – Dejvice

Reactive α-dicarbonyl compounds, such as 3-deoxyglucosulose and methylglyoxal, are formed in heat‑processed and stored foods mainly as intermediates/products of sugar transformation, e.g., in the Maillard reaction. They can directly and better indirectly affect various aspects of food quality. They are precursors of sensory and redox active substances as well as some process contaminants and modified proteins. The direct effect of some dietary α-dicarbonyls is related, e.g., to their antimicrobial activity and potential metabolic transfer and participation in carbonyl stress in human body. The presentation focuses on examples of the genesis of α-dicarbonyls during food processing, the results of their determination in foods rich in monosaccharides and reducing oligosaccharides (from soft drinks and beer to dairy products) and the effect of different technological processes on the amount and kinds of α-dicarbonyls in foods. The addition of some nucleophilic compounds and nutraceuticals/extracts with these active substances has the potential to reduce the level of α-dicarbonyl compounds and thus reduce some undesirable aspects of the Maillard reaction.

Keywords: α-dicarbonyl compounds, methylglyoxal, Maillard reaction, reducing saccharides

pages: 32-33, online: 2025