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The suitability of a one-step derivatization procedure using N-methyl-N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide for the simultaneous assay of 22 free amino acids and its application for their analysis in six animal source foods (pork, dry cured ham, chicken stock, fresh cheese, ripened cheese, and dry salted sardine) by GC-MS were studied. All 22 free amino acid derivatives were correctly detected and resolved. Reproducibility (%RSD) of the method was in the range of 1.9-12.2%. Detection and quantitation limits of the analytical procedure ranged from 0.01 to 0.46 mg/100 g dry weight and from 0.02 to 1.55 mg/100 g dry weight, respectively. The calibration curves were linear within the range 0.1-15.0 mg/100 g with correlation coefficient values (R(2)) from 0.9891 to 0.9983. All analyzed food products showed free amino acid contents similar to those found in the scientific literature. The proposed GC-MS method for the determination of free amino acids in animal source food can be used in routine for both analytical and research purposes.

This work aimed to investigate the effect of pre-cure freezing Iberian hams on proteolysis phenomena throughout the ripening process. Non-protein nitrogen (NPN), peptide nitrogen (PN) and amino acid nitrogen (AN) as well as amino acid and dipeptide evolution followed the same trend in both refrigerated (R) and pre-cure frozen (F) Iberian hams during processing. At the different stages of ripening, there were no differences in the content of NPN and AN while F dry-cured hams had higher levels of PN than R hams at the final step. This seemed to be more related to the salt content (lower in F than in R hams) than to the pre-cure freezing treatment. Most amino acids and dipeptides detected showed higher concentrations in F than in R Iberian hams at the green stage, being rather similar at the intermediate phases. At the final stage, the effects of pre-cure freezing of Iberian hams were not well defined, higher levels of some amino acids and dipeptides were found in R than in F Iberian hams whereas other amino acids were lower in R than in F hams., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study deals with the occurrences that take place during the cooking of chicken soups under different conditions as well as their implications on the sensory quality. For that, the effect of temperature (103°C and 85°C) and time (3, 4, and 5 h) of cooking on taste compounds and sensory attributes of chicken soups was investigated. Amino acids, nucleotides, and equivalent umami showed the highest values at 103°C and 5 h soups and the lowest at 85°C and 3 h. Taste compounds increased with temperature and cooking time. Sensory attributes obtained higher scores at 103°C than at 85°C. Inosine-5’-monophosphate and guanosine-5’-monophosphate and minor amino acids (α-aminoadipic acid, ornithine, tryptophan, cystine, and methionine) influenced taste compounds notably. In addition, this study firstly uses an easy and rapid method for amino acid analysis, with sarcosine, α-aminobutiric acid, ß-aminoisobutiric acid, allo-isoleucine, and α-aminoadipic acid being detected for the first time in soups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the use of a mixer mill as the homogenization tool for the extraction of free amino acids in meat samples, with the main goal of analyzing a large number of samples in the shortest time and minimizing sample amount and solvent volume. Ground samples (0.2 g) were mixed with 1.5 mL HCl 0.1 M and homogenized in the mixer mill. The final biphasic system was separated by centrifugation. The supernatant was deproteinized, derivatized and analyzed by gas chromatography. This procedure showed a high extracting ability, especially in samples with high free amino acid content (recovery = 88.73–104.94%). It also showed a low limit of detection and quantification (3.8 · 10−4–6.6 · 10−4 μg μL−1 and 1.3 · 10−3–2.2 · 10−2 μg μL−1, resp.) for most amino acids, an adequate precision (2.15–20.15% for run-to-run), and a linear response for all amino acids (R2 = 0.741–0.998) in the range of 1–100 µg mL−1. Moreover, it takes less time and requires lower amount of sample and solvent than conventional techniques. Thus, this is a cost and time efficient tool for homogenizing in the extraction procedure of free amino acids from meat samples, being an adequate option for routine analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work evaluates the influence of deep-frying coated fish products on total fat, fatty acid (FA) and amino acid profile, and on the formation of volatile compounds, with special attention on furan and its derivatives due to their potential harmful characteristics. As expected, deep-frying in sunflower oil increased linoleic acid content, but total fat amount increased only by 2% on a dry basis. Eicosapentanoic and docosahexanoic acids were preserved while γ- and α-linoleic acids were oxidised. Deep-frying also induces proteolysis, releasing free AA, and the formation of volatile compounds, particularly aldehydes and ketones arising from polyunsaturated FA. In addition, high quantities of furanic compounds, particularly furan and furfuryl alcohol, are generated during deep-frying coated fish. The breaded crust formed could contribute simultaneously for the low uptake of fat, preservation of long chain n−3 FA, and for the high amounts of furanic compounds formed during the deep-frying process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]