| Abstract: | The reaction behaviour of monosaccharides in the Maillard reaction is well investigated. Amadori compounds, for instance, form deoxyhexosuloses which are responsible for the formation of volatile flavour substances and melanoidins. These intermediates can be quantified by a trapping reaction with o‐phenylendiamine as stable quinoxalines. However the reaction behaviour of oligo and polymeric carbohydrates in non‐enzymatic browning reactions are hardly known. Therefore maltooligosaccharides and in some cases starch were used together with glycine as model substances to investigate the Maillard reaction mechanism of oligo and polysaccharides. In quasi waterfree reaction systems oligosaccharides form α‐dicarbonyl compounds via a “peeling off” mechanism. The Maillardreaction with the amino compound starts at the reducing end of an α‐glucane residue and results in the formation of 1,4‐dideoxyhexosulose. This is the main α‐dicarbonyl compound found by trapping reaction with o‐phenylendiamine during thermally induced degradation of maltooligosaccharides. The thermal reaction of maltooligosaccharides is accompanied by transglycosylations leading to formation of branched carbohydrate structures and by dehydrations forming anhydrosugars. The reaction mechanism which is responsible for degradation of oligomeric carbohydrates in aqueous model systems differs significantly from pathways mentioned above for water free reaction conditions. As the main α‐dicarbonyl compound 3‐deoxypentosulose is formed which can be proved also by trapping reactions. Under aqueous reaction conditions the formation of other α‐dicarbonyls plays only a marginal role in the Maillard reaction of oligomeric carbohydrates. In an aqueous system transglycosylation and dehydration of maltooligosaccharides are not important. |
