Abstract: This paper reports on the results of an investigation into the effects of temperature, heating time, initial pH, protein concentration and antioxidant type on the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in a simulated thermal processing system consisting of BSA and glucose. Fluorescence intensity at an excitation/emission wavelength of 370 nm/440 nm was used as a measure of the formation of AGEs. The results showed that the production of AGEs tended to first increase to the maximum at 100 ℃ and 60 min, respectively, and then decrease with increasing temperature and prolonged heating time. Initial pH was an important variable that influences the formation of AGEs; the largest amount of AGEs were formed at pH 7.0, followed by alkaline conditions, and the formation of AGEs was minimized under acid conditions. The formation of AGEs was substantially affected by tea polyphenols, liquorice flavonoids and rosemary acid but little affected by Fe2+, Fe3+, Al3+, Zn2+ or Ca2+. Hence, the formation of AGEs is affected importantly by process conditions including heating time, temperature and initial pH, and is inhibited by tea polyphenols, liquorice flavonoids and rosemary acid as food-grade natural antioxidants but is not affected by metal ions.

Key words: food, Maillard reaction, advanced glycation end products, fluorescence spectrometry, antioxidant