Glucose with amino acids, aromas from

Thermal aromas result from the Maillard reaction. By heating carbohydrates with amino acids degradation is accelerated yielding reactive compounds which, by new reactions with amino acids, are converted to heterocyclic products. Results of model investigations of glucose or its degradation compounds with the amino acids serine and phenylalanine are discussed. 

As well as the amino and carboxy groups, the amino-acid side-chain is also involved early in the Maillard reaction, so the side-chain functional groups become incorporated into the products from Maillard reactions. Cysteine, in particular, reacts with glucose to generate numerous reaction products, some of which introduce attractive tastes and aromas to foods associated with sulphur functional groups. 

K. H. Wong, S. A. Aziz, and S. Mohamed, Sensory aroma from Maillard reaction of individual and combinations of amino acids with glucose in acidic conditions, Int. J. Food Sci. Technol., 43 (2008) 1512-1519. 

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