Sulfur-containing flavor compound formation

R. Tressl, E. Kersten, C. Nittka, and D. Rewicki, Formation of sulfur-containing flavor compounds from [13C]-labeled sugars, cysteine, and methionine, in Sulfur Compounds in Foods, C. J. Mussinan and M. E. Keelan (eds), American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1994, 224-235. 

M. Guntert, J. Bruning, R. Emberger, M. Kopsel, W. Kuhn, T. Thielmann, and P. Werkhoff, Identification and formation of some selected sulfur-containing flavor compounds in various meat model systems, J. Agric. Food Chem., 1990, 38, 2027-2041. 

Formation of Sulfur-Containing Flavor Compounds from [ C]-Labeled Sugars, Cysteine, and Methionine... 

Tressl, R., Kersten, E., Nittka, C., Rewicki, D. Formation of sulfur-containing flavor compounds from [ C]-labeled sugars, cysteine and metMo-nine. In Sulfur compounds in foods (Eds. C.J. Mussintm, M.E. Keelan) p. 224, ACS Symp. Ser. 564, American Chemical Society, Washington, 1994... 

The type of amino acids and sugars were found as the main factors in flavor compound formation [184], For example meat-related flavor compounds are mainly sulfur containing compounds, derived from cysteine and ribose (coming from the nucleotides), while the amino acid proline gives rise to typical bread, rice, and popcorn flavors. 

In addition to their concern regarding spray residues of the lead arsenate and organic types, canners whose fruits are sprayed with lime sulfur have reason for concern over the presence of sulfur in their canned products. The presence of elemental sulfur or simple compounds of reduced sulfur in canned foods, especially in those products having an acid character, is objectionable, not only because it may be the source of sulfide flavor and staining, but also because it may actively accelerate the formation of hydrogen by the corrosive action of the product on the container. 

Heterocyclic compounds are dominant among the aroma compounds produced in the Maillard reaction, and sulfur-containing heterocyclics have been shown to be particularly important in meat-like flavors. In a recent review, MacLeod (6) listed 78 compounds which have been reported in the literature as possessing meaty aromas seven are aliphatic sulfur compounds, the other 71 are heterocyclic of which 65 contain sulfur. The Strecker degradation of cysteine by dicarbonyls is an extremely important route for the formation of many heterocyclic sulfur compounds hydrogen sulfide and mercaptoacetaldehyde are formed by the decarboxylation and deamination of cysteine and provide reactive intermediates for interaction with other Maillard products. 

Several methods have been employed (20) in the extraction of flavor volatiles from their chemical and physical bonds in the complex muscle matrix. These methods include steam distillation, solvent extraction, headspace analysis and supercritical fluid extraction. Each method had specific advantages and shortcomings when used in the isolation of numerous compound types such as carbonyls, sulfur-containing compounds such as thiols and thiazoles, pyrazines, furans, and pyrroles (27, 22). The mechanisms responsible for the formation of these flavor volatiles have been proposed and developed based on such experimentation (25, 24). 

Individual flavor compounds. While numerous other volatile compounds (sulfur and nonsulfur-containing) were formed in this model system during heating, only the sulfur compounds which were formed in sufficient quantity to be subjected to kinetic analysis are going to be discussed in this paper. The formation of additional nonsulfur-containing volatiles will be discussed in another article (12). 

The thermal degradation of thiamin (vitamin B ) is a very complex reaction consisting of various degradation pathways. This results in the formation of many organoleptically interesting flavor compounds. Most of them contain one or more sulfur and/or nitrogen atoms, and many of them are heterocyclic structures. 

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