Effects of metal ions on formation of acrylamide and 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural in asparagine–glucose model system

Undesirable substances of thermal food processing such as acrylamide (AA) and 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) have been intensively studied in recent decades. The aim of this work was to investigate the evolution mechanism of AA and HMF contents in the presence of various valence metal cations at various concentrations in asparagine–glucose model system. Three interesting phenomena were found. Firstly, the AA contents first decreased and then increased, whereas the HMF contents first increased and then decreased, with increasing metal cations concentration; secondly, the concentration of cations for maximal HMF contents was lower than the concentration of cations for minimal AA contents; thirdly, the maximum AA‐inhibiting or HMF‐promoting efficiency was achieved more readily with trivalent, then divalent and lastly monovalent cations. These phenomena can be explained by that increasing the metal cations concentration can increase the protonated product contents, thus increasing the AA‐inhibiting efficiency and HMF‐promoting efficiency. With higher metal cations concentration in the model system, HMF as a reactant can react with the asparagine to form AA or directly decompose into furfural. These interesting results can provide a theoretical foundation to simultaneously control the formation of AA and HMF during food processing.