The Strecker Degradation

Strecker aldehydes are produced by the Strecker degradation of the initial Schiff base (Figure 5). An a-amino carbonyl compound and... 

Strecker aldehyde are generated by rearrangement, decarboxylation and hydrolysis. Thus the Strecker degradation is the oxidative de-amination and de-carboxylation of an a-amino acid in the presence of a dicarbonyl compound. An aldehyde with one fewer carbon atoms than the original amino acid is produced. The other class of product is an a-aminoketone. These are important as they are intermediates in the formation of heterocyclic compounds such as pyrazines, oxazoles and thiazoles, which are important in flavours. 

Scheme 18.—Mechanism for Acylpyrrole formation from 3-Deoxyhexos-2-ulose by the Strecker Degradation.

The first group contains compounds produced in the early stages of the reaction by the breakdown of the Amadori or Heynes intermediates, and includes similar compounds to those found in the caramelisation of sugars. Many of these compounds possess aromas that could contribute to food flavour, but they are also important intermediates for other compounds. The second group comprises simple aldehydes, hydrogen sulphide or amino compounds that result from the Strecker degradation occurring between amino acids and dicarbonyl compounds. 

The Amadori compound may be degraded via either of two pathways, depending on pH, to a variety of active alcohol, carbonyl and dicarbonyl compounds and ultimately to brown-coloured polymers called melanoidins (Figure 2.31). Many of the intermediates are (off-) flavoured. The dicarbonyls can react with amino acids via the Strecker degradation pathway (Figure 2.32) to yield another family of highly flavoured compounds. 

Isatin has been used in the Strecker degradation of a-amino acids to aldehydes,434-437 and in the formation of benzaldehydes from benzyl-amines.431,435,438-440 These conversions have been the subject of a review, and mechanisms have been proposed.441 This formation of aldehydes from primary amines may, in part, explain some of the... 

Both the ninhydrin reaction and pyridoxal phosphate-catalyzed decarboxylation of amino acids (Chapter 14) are examples of the Strecker degradation. Strecker reported in 1862 that alloxan causes the decarboxylation of alanine to acetaldehyde, C02, and ammonia.c... 

Finally, heating of amino acids can produce volatiles Including aldehydes, amines and hydrogen sulfide. One minor, but Important, flavor generating pathway Involves the Strecker degradation of an amino acid as shown in Figure 2. In this reaction, an alpha amino acid reacts with an alpha dicarbonyl at an elevated temperature to produce an aldehyde (one carbon less than the amino acid) as well as an alpha amino ketone. These products can react further to yield Important heterocyclic aroma chemicals such as pyrazines, thlazoles, and dihydrofuranones. 

Also acetic acid may arise from a reaction of this type. Most important compounds of this pathway are pyruvic aldehyde, diacetyl, hydro-oxyacetone and hydroxydiacetyl which can easily react with amino acids. The Strecker degradation is a reaction where the amino acid is de-carboxylated and loses its amino group. Reaction products are the Strecker aldehyde and - as an intermediate - an aminoketone which forms a pyrazine by dimerization. This pathway is considered to be most important for the origin of pyrazines in thermal aromas. However, only limited knowledge is available about the fate of the Strecker aldehydes. As we will demonstrate they are very reactive. 

Pyridines and pyrroles can be formed in different pathways by Mail-lard reaction. The formation of 5-methyl pyrrole aldehyde and 6-methyl-3-pyridinole has been observed by Nyhammar et al (17) by the reaction of isotope labelled 3-deoxyosone with glycine. The 3-deoxy-hexosone represents an -dicarbonyl compound and in this way the Strecker degradation occurs. Another pathway is the reaction of fu-rans with ammonia. Under roast conditions, we have obtained primarily the corresponding pyrrole, whereas we found the corresponding py-... 

Upon reaction with amino acids, in the Strecker degradation, unstable imines are formed, which may easily decarboxylate, leaving an enamine, which upon hydrolysis yields an aldehyde from the amino acid and an a-aminoketone from the di-carbonyl-compound. 

Saunders et al (13) reinvestigated the role of buffer salts in the non-enzymic browning, which term is also in use for the Maillard reaction. He used spectrophotometric measurement of the browning, the evolution of carbon dioxide (resulting from the Strecker degradation), and the change in the pH of the medium as the analytical techniques. The authors confirmed the findings of Schwimmer and Reynolds. 

In roasted coffee similar reactions seem to be involved forming methylmercaptan by the Strecker degradation of free methionine and forming H S from peptide cysteine. Figure 8 presents additional flavor contributing constituents of roasted coffee. 3-Thiolanone 6 and 2-methyl-3-thiolanone 1 were identified by Stoll et al. (19) and patented as coffee flavors. The two thiolanones 6, T are formed as major constituents in erythrose and xylose/ cysteine model systems, respectively. 

Another important aspect of the Maillard reaction involves the Strecker degradation of ot-amino acids. At elevated temperatures oe-dicarbonyl compounds, such as 3-deoxy glucosone, pyruvaldehyde, glyoxal, and dihydroascorbic acid will cause the degradation of an... 

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. 

Being volatile, the aldehydes formed in the Strecker degradation have often been thought to be important contributors to the aroma of foodstuffs and many patents have been granted which use the Strecker degradation to produce flavouring materials of various types, such as, maple, chocolate, coffee, tea, honey, mushroom, and bread.66... 

Sugar dehydration and fragmentation were dealt with in Chapter 2, as was the Strecker degradation. Here, the focus will be on the formation of the different heterocyclic volatiles. 

The formation of pyrazines is generally linked to the Strecker degradation (see Chapter 2), in which the dicarbonyl reagent undergoes transamination, leading to an a-aminocarbonyl. Two molecules of this readily condense to a dihydropyrazine, as shown in Scheme 5.8. 

Scheme 5.8 Pyrazine formation from 1,2-aminocarbonyl derived from the Strecker degradation...

Cysteine can undergo the Strecker degradation, transamination, and -elimination, as shown by Tressl et al.247 using [1- or 6-13C]glucose (equimolar aqueous solution, 160 °C, 1.5 h). 2-Furylmethanethiol (T 0.005 ppb), very important in providing the aroma of roasted coffee and roasted meat, is formed as shown in Scheme 5.14 from [l-13C]glucose via the 3-deoxy-l,2-dicarbonyl, which loses... 

G. P. Rizzi, The Strecker degradation and its contribution to food flavor, in Flavor Chemistry Thirty Years of Progress, R. Teranishi, E. L. Wick, and I. Homstein (eds), Kluwer/Plenum, New York, 1999, 335-343. 

Rooney et al (45) reported that the rate of carbonyl formation varied with the molecular structure of sugar. Xylose was most reactive as it produced the greatest quantity of carbonyls, followed by glucose, then maltose. In the presence of these sugars isoleucine was more reactive than phenylalanine. In a study on the Strecker degradation of valine-carbonyl, diacetyl showed the greatest reactivity followed by sorbose> arabinose>xylose>fructose>glucose>sucrose>rhamnose, Self(46). 

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