Individual Maillard reaction products as indicators of heat treatment of pasta - A survey of commercial products

During pasta production, drying processes promote glycation reactions (non-enzymatic browning, Maillard reaction). Certain “traditionally produced” pasta products are often labelled with claims suggesting high quality due to a gentle heat treatment. The impact of heat treatment of food can be assessed by the measurement of Maillard reaction products (MRPs). In the present study, the MRPs N-ε-fructosyllysine, N-ε-maltulosyllysine, furosine, N-ε-carboxymethyllysine (CML), N-ε-carboxyethyllysine (CEL), pyrraline, formyline, maltosine, methylglyoxal-derived hydroimidazolone 1 (MG-H1), 3-deoxyglucosone, 3-deoxygalactosone, glucosyl isomaltol, and HMF were quantified in 31 pasta products. N-ε-Maltulosyllysine was found to be the predominating MRP (up to 2.4 g/100 g of protein). Between 4 and 28% of the essential amino acid lysine was found to be modified due to glycation reactions. Taking ten MRPs into account, a low-MRP and a high-MRP cluster could be distinguished by cluster analysis. Closer examination of the clusters revealed that the MRPs N-ε-maltulosyllysine, pyrraline, maltosine, HMF, and glucosyl isomaltol differ most strongly and should further be considered as potential heating markers. Lastly, a study on 5 pasta products with different shapes provided evidence that glycated amino acids are not degraded during cooking. Maltosine is formed additionally during cooking. The consumption of pasta contributes substantially to the daily intake of Amadori rearrangement products and CML.