Contemporary and controversial aspects of the Maillard reaction products

•Maillard reaction (MR) occurs in food and in living organisms (glycation).•Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGE) are implicated in physiopathological process.•Dietary MRP might increase AGE endogenous pool.•Evidence relating dietary MRP raising systemic AGE level is not strong enough.•Interdisciplinary approach on this field is needed.

For a whole century, the Maillard reaction and its products (MRP) have been topics of interest in the field of food science and technology. In the past recent decades the interest in the chemistry and biological activities of such compounds migrated to the biomedical field. Glycation occurs in living organisms and is pronounced in individuals with diabetes or renal impairment who display higher levels of circulating Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs) than healthy individuals. AGEs bind to specific receptors (RAGEs) triggering inflammatory and oxidative processes implicated in the pathogeny of several diseases processes. There are evidence that dietary PRM diet increases the endogenous pool of AGEs, and AGEs enhance pathological conditions (e.g. insulin resistance, vascular impairment). Whether dietary MRP impacts health is, therefore, a central question. This article presents a panorama and addresses hot points that need to be discussed interdisciplinary, in future researches on this subject.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide