Effects of saccharide type and extended heating on the Maillard reaction and physicochemical properties of high-solid gelatin gels.

This research delves into the Maillard reaction (MR) in high-solid gelatin-saccharide mixtures consisting of 8% and 72% of allulose, fructose, or fructo-oligosaccharides, which were subjected to varied duration (0-60min) of thermal processing prior to gelation. Physicochemical properties of the gels, including color, chemical composition, protein crosslinking, mechanical strength, in-vitro digestibility and antioxidant activities, were characterized. At pH ∼5.5 and intermediate water activities (0.6-0.7), fast browning was observed through sugar degradation and sugar-amine interactions, which were intensified by prolonged heating. The MR reactivity of saccharides followed: AL > FRU > FOS. Characteristic products (MRPs, e.g., α-dicarbonyls, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and advanced glycation end products) were identified, with the spectra of MRPs varying significantly between monosaccharides and oligosaccharides. The MR-induced protein glycation and crosslinking exhibited certain negative impacts on the gel strength and in-vitro protein digestibility. Furthermore, all gelatin-saccharide mixtures exhibited augmented antioxidant properties, with the gelatin-AL mixtures displaying the highest free radical scavenging rates.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Ruican Wang reports financial support was provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China. Wenwen Pang reports financial support was provided by Science and Technology Program of Tianjin, China. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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