Comparative Study of the Effect of Glucosamine and Free Ammonium on 4-Methylimidazole Formation.

The effect of glucosamine analogues (glucosamine and acetylglucosamine) and free ammonium on the formation of 4-methylimidazole (4-MeI) was investigated in the caramel model reaction systems. Methylglyoxal (MGO) was detected after derivatization by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). 4-MeI in the Maillard reaction was tested using a high-performance cation exchange chromatography coupled with APCI-MS (HPCEC-MS). The levels of pyrazines tested by gas chromatography (GC) coupled with MS were applied to mark the condensation reaction between dicarbonyls and free ammonium. Results showed that the formation of 4-MeI and its precursor MGO was inhibited in glucosamine analogue model reaction systems. Besides, the results from pyrazines and brown intensity in glucosamine analogues model reaction systems indicated that glucosamine analogues mainly underwent the reaction of intra-intermolecular polymerization into melanoidins rather than the degradation reaction into MGO. Using glucosamine analogues to produce the caramel color with a low level of 4-MeI was applicable.