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Scope: Scarce data are available concerning effects of certain bioactive substances such as Maillard reaction products (MRP) on the gut microbiota composition, and the question of how a diet rich in MRP affects gut microbiota in humans is still open., Methods and Results: Two experiments were conducted. In expt. 1, adolescents consumed diets either high or low in MRP in a two-period crossover trial; in expt. 2, rats were fed diets supplemented or not with MRP model-systems. Intestinal microbiota composition in fecal (adolescents) or cecal (rat) samples was assessed by qPCR analysis. Negative correlations were found in the human assay between lactobacilli numbers and dietary advanced MRP (r = -0.418 and -0.387, for hydroxymethylfurfural and carboxymethyl-lysine respectively, p < 0.05), whereas bifidobacteria counts were negatively correlated with Amadori compounds intake. In the rat assay, total bacteria and lactobacilli were negatively correlated with MRP intake (r = -0.674,-0.675 and -0.676, for Amadori compounds, hydroxymethylfurfural and carboxymethyl-lysine respectively, p < 0.05), but no correlations were found with bifidobacteria., Conclusions: Dietary MRP are able to modulate in vivo the intestinal microbiota composition both in humans and in rats, and the specific effects are likely to be linked to the chemical structure and dietary amounts of the different browning compounds., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The effects of diets with different Maillard reaction products (MRPs) content on biological iron utilization were compared using in vitro/in vivo assays. Diets were rich (brown diet, BD) or poor (white diet) in MRP. In vitro studies included iron solubility after in vitro digestion of diets and iron transport across Caco-2 cells. In the human assay 18 healthy adolescent males (11-14 years) participated in a 2-wk randomized two-period crossover trial. Subjects collected urine and faeces on the last 3 days of each dietary period, and fasting blood samples were obtained after periods. In vitro dietary iron availability was significantly lower with the BD than the white diet (9.52 and 12.92%, respectively), as a consequence of the lower iron solubility after the in vitro digestion, but not as a result of decreased transport of the remaining soluble iron. The BD consumption increased iron fecal excretion ( approximately 1.4-fold) and significantly decreased its bioavailability ( approximately 2.7-fold), mainly due to the effects found at digestive level. Serum biochemical parameters related to iron metabolism remained unaltered. It is concluded the presence of MRP in the diet negatively affects iron bioavailability. As iron deficiency may be related to learning impairment and to reductions of cognitive and physical functions, possible long-term effects of excessive MRP intake during adolescence warrant attention.

Contents of some indicators of the Maillard reaction (MR) in two diets adjusted to the adolescent requirements are compared: the A-diet, usually consumed by the adolescent population containing their preferred foods cooked by the culinary techniques more frequently chosen; and the B-diet, with the same foods, except those industrially processed and with high content of Maillard reaction products (MRP), cooked in softer processes to minimise the MR. Aliquots of a lunch-dinner (LD) and breakfast-afternoon (BA) snack pools separately from both diets were ground and lyophilised. Fluorescence associated to MRP, CIELAB colour parameters, furosine, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), carboxymethyllysine (CML) and sugar contents were investigated in the samples. Significant losses of lightness were manifested in A samples compared to the B ones. Fluorescence intensity was significantly higher in the LD and BA samples from the A-diet. Furosine measured in the A-diet was similar to that found in the B-diet. However, HMF content was significantly higher in the A-diet, as well as CML. Data showed significant higher levels of advanced MRP in the usual diet. Thus, MRP intake associated to alimentary pattern in the adolescence population might be studied in order to assess the health implications of the MRP consumption and its possible synergic effect with endogenous advanced glycation endproducts.

The influence of glucose-lysine and glucose-methionine Maillard reaction products (MRPs) on calcium availability was studied in rats and in Caco-2 cells. Equimolar glucose/lysine and glucose/methionine mixtures (40% moisture) were heated (150 degrees C, 30 or 90 min) to prepare samples (GL30, GL90, GM30, and GM90, respectively). For 21 days, the rats were fed the AIN-93G diet (control group) or diets containing separately 3% of the heated mixtures (GL30, GL90, GM30, and GM90 groups, respectively). In the last week of the trial, a calcium balance was performed. On day 21, the animals were sacrificed and their livers and femurs removed for analysis of calcium levels. The GL30 and GM30 samples and the corresponding raw mixtures were used for Caco-2 cells experiments. Fecal excretion of calcium decreased and urinary elimination increased in the GM30 and GM90 groups. In accordance, increased calcium transport in Caco-2 cells was found in the presence of the GM30 sample, compared with the raw sample. Bone calcium concentration was lower among the animals consuming MRP diets, compared with the control group. The possible long-term effects of MRP intake on calcium deposition in the bone should be further studied to ascertain the implications on related diseases.