DFT Studies on Fructose and Glycine Maillard Reaction: Formation of the Heyns Rearrangement Products in the Initial Stage

M. Abul Haider Shipar*

Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti, Università di degli Studi di Udine, Via Marangoni 97, 33100 Udine, Italy

DFT studies on the proposed mechanisms of the initial stage of Maillard reaction between α-fructose (α-Fru)/β-fructose (β-Fru)/open chain fructose (O-Fru) and glycine (Gly) under different conditions revealed that α-Fru was more reactive than β-Fru and O-Fru, and O-Fru was less reactive than β-Fru in the reaction. The reaction under basic conditions was found to be the most favorable for the formation of the Heyns rearrangement products (HRPs) in the initial stage, and the aqueous solution was found to be more feasible than the gaseous state reaction. The reaction under neutral conditions was the second most favorable for the production of HRPs. The reaction at the isoelectric point of glycine and under acidic conditions was found to be unfeasible to produce HRPs.

Keywords: DFT, Fructose and glycine, Maillard reaction, Heyns rearrangement products, Initial stage