Title : Flavonoid derivatives formed from inhibition of harmful Maillard product formation in thermally-processed foods: Potential benefits and health risks
Abstract:
The Maillard reaction, which occurs during the thermal processing of foods, generates desirable flavor and aroma compounds. Unfortunately, this reaction is often accompanied by undesirable reactions that yield various harmful Maillard products such as heterocyclic amines (HAs), acrylamides (AA) and advance glycation end products (AGEs). Flavonoids, particularly those with meta-phenol structures such as quercetin, genistein, catechin, and epicatechin, have shown significant inhibitory effects against the formation of these harmful Maillard products. Moreover, these flavonoids have been found to effectively scavenge methylglyoxal (MGO), phenylacetaldehyde and 3-oxopropanamide forming flavonoid-MGO, flavonoid-phenylacetaldehyde and flavonoid-propanamide adducts, respectively. These adducts exhibit various beneficial bioactivities, including the suppression of colon cancer cells, reduction of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell viability, inhibition of cell migration, and suppression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. However, due to the limited bioavailability of flavonoids and the significant degradation of dietary flavonoids by gut microorganisms before absorption by intestinal endothelial cells, flavonoid adducts have limited potential as direct therapeutic agents. Nonetheless, they serve as valuable biochemical probes for research purposes.
