INHIBITORY EFFECT AND PRIMARY MECHANISM OF PROANTHOCYANIDINS FROM GRAPE SEEDS AGAINST ACRYLAMIDE FORMATION IN A MAILLARD REACTION MODEL SYSTEM

Acrylamide, a potential health hazard with carcinogenic risk, is formed during frying or baking carbohydrate-rich foods such as potatoes and cereal products. Addition of phytochemicals during food processing may be a feasible way to reduction of acrylamide formation in food processing. Proanthocyanidins from grape seeds (PGS) consist of monomeric flavan-3-ol units (the degree of polymerization DP = 2-10, sometimes > 10-25) which are mainly linked through C4 → C8 or C4 → C6 bonds. We demonstrated that a suitable concentration of PGS could cause a significant reduction of acrylamide formation in an asparagine-glucose Maillard reaction model system at pH 6.8. The presence of PGS substantially mitigated the extent of Maillard browning. Possible inhibitory pathways and primary mechanism of PGS against acrylamide formation is discussed. PGS, a kind of condensed tannins, could precipitate amino acids through complexation, thus possibly making asparagine less available for the corresponding Maillard reaction so as to reduce acrylamide formation.