Free radical scavenging capacity of Maillard reaction products as related to colour and fluorescence

The free radical scavenging activity of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) produced by heating glucose or lactose with lysine, alanine or glycine was estimated directly by means of a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH·) method. Model systems of sugar (lactose and glucose) and amino acid (alanine, glycine, and lysine) were heated without pH control at 100°C up to 24 h. Fluorescence (347 and 415 nm), browning (absorbance at 420 nm), colour parameters in the CIELab scale, and free radical scavenging activity were determined. Browning is not directly related to the free radical scavenging properties of MRPs formed at prolonged heating conditions. This study shows that fluorescence measurement of heated sugar/amino acid systems is more effective than browning to follow the formation of MRPs with free radical scavenging activities. This approach could be applied to optimise the formation of natural antioxidants during food processing where browning is not desirable for consumers.