Extraction, identification of Maillard reaction products in Chinese traditional foodstuffs and their cellular effects on human cell lines

Basic data for this project

Description

Thermally generated flavoring preparations may contain mixtures of aroma active compounds generated by the Maillard reaction that bring about typical heated meat flavor. Such preparations are applied for the flavoring of various kinds of snacks and instant food. Certain of these compounds not only provide characteristic flavor impact, but may also possess antioxidative, anticarcinogenic and potentially other protective activities. On the other hand preference of heat-induced toxicants such as acrylamide, furane, α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones etc. can also not be excluded. Based on the complexity of the Maillard reaction only a limited number of compounds have been isolated and identified so far. Furthermore, activity guided studies to characterize physiological and biochemical properties of such food constituents are quite limited. This project is planned to study extracts from Chinese traditional foodstuffs containing Maillard-type flavors, focusing on Jinhua ham and Peking duck. The Maillard-type flavors (Maillard reaction products, MRPs) will be isolated and their molecular structure as well as their flavor properties will be identified. To this end, activity guided fractionation will be applied to characterize fractions/compounds with potential antioxidative and other beneficial cellular effects using human colon cancer cells In addition, mutagenicity and/or genotoxicity will be investigated in vitro. Where possible also pure compounds shown to be presented in extracts will be included. The results of this project will help to evaluate the biological activities of isolated/fractionated MRPs in Jinhua ham and Peking duck, in order to approach risk/benefit evaluation based on mechanistic evidence. The data may be useful to design the manufacturing process in a way to optimize beneficial effects and to better mitigate formation of thermally generated compounds with adverse health effects.