Preparation of natural isovaleraldehyde by the Maillard reaction

Isovaleraldehyde possesses malty, fruity, cocoa-like odor and is widely used in fruit, chocolate, coffee flavors. The preparation of natural isovaleraldehyde by the Maillard model reaction was studied in this paper. The effects of the ratio of d-glucose/l-leucine, reaction temperature and pH value on the yield of isovaleraldehyde were explored. The optimum conditions were as follows: n(d-glucose):n(l-leucine) = 4, temperature 150 °C, reaction time 3 h, pH 5. The highest yield of isovaleraldehyde obtained was about 32%.