Chemical properties and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species quenching activities of dry sugar-amino acid maillard reaction mixtures exposed to baking temperatures

•ROS quenching capacity was negatively correlated with color change but positively correlated with sugar loss.•RNS was positively correlated with ROS and sugar loss and negatively correlated with color change.•MRP inhibition of ROS was influenced mostly by sugar type.•RNS quenching activity was dependent on the interaction between reactants and reaction conditions used to generate MRPs.

Maillard reaction products (MRPs) derived from 10 different, dry sugar-amino acid reaction model systems were examined for changes in color index (E), sugar loss, and formation of α-dicarbonyl compounds; the changes were correlated with relative activities to quench both reactive oxygen (ROS) and reactive nitrogen (RNS) species. Reducing sugars, xylose, ribose, fructose, glucose, and non-reducing sucrose were reacted with glycine (Xyl-Gly, Rib-Gly, Fru-Gly, Glc-Gly, and Suc-Gly), or lysine (Xyl-Lys, Rib-Lys, Fru-Lys, Glc-Lys, and Suc-Lys), respectively, at temperatures of 150 °C and 180 °C for time periods ranging from 5 to 60 min. ROS quenching capacity was negatively correlated with color index (E) (r = − 0.604, P < 0.001), and positively correlated with sugar loss (r = 0.567, P < 0.001). MRPs also exhibited activity to quench RNS as assessed by nitric oxide (NO) inhibition in differentiated Caco-2 cells that were induced with interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and phorbol ester (PMA) cocktail. We also showed a correlation between RNS and color index, sugar loss, and ROS quenching activities for MR mixtures that were heated for a short time (e.g. 10 min) at 150 °C. MRP quenching of ROS was largely influenced by sugar type, whereas, RNS quenching was dependent more so on the interaction between reactants and reaction conditions used to generate MRPs.