Acrylamide formation in plantain (Musa paradisiaca) chips influenced by different ripening stages: A correlation study with respect to reducing sugars, amino acids and phenolic content

•Plantain of five different ripening stages were selected for preparing banana chips.•Acrylamide formation was correlated with reducing sugars, aminoacids & phenolics.•Reducing sugars increased on ripening and correlated positively with acrylamide formation.•TPC & TFC decreased on ripening, correlated negatively with acrylamide formation.•Acrylamide in plantain chips can be minimized by proper selection of maturity stage.

The effect of ripening on the formation of acrylamide in deep fried plantain chips made from Nendran variety (Musa paradisiaca) was investigated. The precursors of acrylamide formation, reducing sugars (glucose and fructose) and ten major amino acids, were quantified during different stages of ripening using HPLC and correlated with acrylamide formation. The total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were also estimated and correlated with acrylamide formation. Both glucose and fructose increased during ripening and demonstrated a positive correlation on formation of acrylamide (correlation coefficient of r = 0.95 and 0.94 respectively (p < 0.05), whereas asparagine, was poorly correlated (p > 0.05). The decreased levels of phenolic content during ripening of plantain were negatively correlated with acrylamide formation in the deep fried chips prepared. Thus the selection of proper ripening stage renders reduced formation of acrylamide in plantain chips to a reasonable extend.