Oligomerization of reactive carbonyls in the presence of ammonia-producing compounds: A route for the production of pyridines in foods.

The reactions of different lipid-derived reactive carbonyls with ammonia-producing compounds were studied to investigate the formation of pyridines in foods. 2-Alkyl, 3-alkyl-, and 2,5-dialkylpyiridines were produced by oligomerization of short-chain aldehydes in the presence of ammonia. Thus, acetaldehyde/crotonaldehyde mixtures and 2,4-alkadienals were the main responsible for the formation of 2-alkylpyridines; acrolein or 2,4-alkadienals were needed for the formation of 3-alkylpyridines; and 2-alkenals were responsible for the formation of 2,5-dialkylpyridines. On the contrary, 2,6-dialkylpyridines were produced by cyclization of unsaturated ketones. Reactions pathways for formation of these pyridines are proposed, and confirmed by isotopic labelling experiments. Aldehydes and ketones required for their formation are produced in the course of lipid oxidation. Therefore, pyridine formation seems to be an additional consequence of the lipid oxidation pathway. This new knowledge can employed for the optimization of reactions to achieve the desired targeted flavor generation during food processing.