Volatile Compounds from the Reaction of Cysteine, Ribose, and Phospholipid in Low-Moisture Systems

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jf00052a027

The headspace volatiles from Maillard reaction mixtures of cysteine and ribose heated at 185 deg C with or without the addition of phosphatidylcholine, either dry or in the presence of a small quantity of water, were analyzed by GC-MS.The major products of the reaction were 3,5-dimethyl-1,2,4-trithiolane, 3-methyl-1,2,4-trithiane, 3,6-dimethyl-1,2,4,5-tetrathiane, and thieno<2,3-b>thiophene.Other products included a number of thiazoles and small amounts of some furanthiols and disulfides.Water had a significant effect on the relative amounts of volatiles produced; in particular, 1-(2-furanylmethyl)-1H-pyrrole, two other 1-(2-furanylmethyl)alkyl-1H-pyrroles, and two bis(furan) compounds were only produced to any extent in systems without water.The addition of lipid had only a small effect on the volatile profile, with small amounts of lipid degradation products and lipid/Maillard interaction products formed.These results differ greatly from previous studies on the volatiles formed in reaction systems carried out in the presence of large quantities of water.Keywords: Volatiles; Maillard reaction; moisture content; phospholipid