Inhibitory effect of thiol compounds on browning precursors and intermediates in sorbitol/glycine system

Abstract BACKGROUND Sorbitol as a sweetener is often thought to be unable to participate in the Maillard reaction causing browning. However, browning of a system was found to be significant when sorbitol was mixed with glycine and heated. The thiol compounds glutathione and cysteine were added to the system, and the inhibition mechanism of the two on the browning of the system was studied by combining the changes of precursor substances, intermediate products and browning degree. RESULTS When the concentration of thiol compounds reached 25 mg mL −1 , both could make the browning inhibition of the system more than 80%, and the accumulated glucose concentration was reduced to <35% of the control. The production of 3‐deoxyglucosone, a precursor of melanoidin, was significantly reduced. CONCLUSION Glutathione and cysteine directly inhibited the production of substrates in the sorbitol/glycine system, reduced glucose accumulation through competitive consumption and captured highly active intermediates through sulfhydryl groups. This has implications for the browning control of food systems containing sugar alcohols. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.