Maillard reaction natural soils

Figure 2.11. Possible amide formation pathway including the key role of Mn02. Reprinted with permission from Jokic, A., Schulten, H.-R., Cutler, J. N., et al. (2005). Catalysis of the Maillard reaction by 8-Mn02 A significant abiotic sorptive condensation pathway for the formation of refractory N-containing biogeomacromolecules in nature. In Soil Abiotic and Botic Interactions and Impact on the Ecosystem and Human Welfare, Huang, P. M., Violante, A., Bollag, J.-M., and Vityakon, P, eds., Science Publishers, Enfield, NJ, 127-152.

A number of studies have detected Maillard reaction products (melanoidins) in refractory organic matter from natural environments—for example, from sediments from a west African upwelling (Zegouagh et al., 1999) and archeological plant remains (Evershed et al., 1997). Poirer et al. (2000,2002) and Quenea et al. (2006a) showed that the refractory organic matter isolated from different soils consists in part of cross-linked melanoidins poorly resolved by 13C NMR spectroscopy. The presence of amide structures in soil as elucidated by 15N NMR is ascribed to either preserved proteinacious structures or melanoidin-type macromolecules (Derenne and Largeau, 2001). 

Little is known on the catalysis of the Maillard reaction and especially the integrated polyphenol-Maillard reaction by natural soils and sediments. Further work is warranted on this subject matter to advance our understanding of the role of abiotic catalysis in the formation of humic substances and related C turnover and N transformations in the environment. 

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