Formation of advanced glycation end products in glucose–amino acid models of Maillard reaction under dry‐ and wet‐heating conditions

Abstract BACKGROUND Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are compounds formed by non‐enzymatic processes in the Maillard reaction and can cause various chronic diseases. This study explores the AGE formation process in a glucose–amino acid system under both wet‐ and dry‐heating conditions, and analyzes the effect of cysteine in AGE formation. RESULTS Under wet‐heating conditions, N ε ‐carboxymethyllysine (CML) and N ε ‐carboxyethyllysine (CEL) concentrations rose for the initial 90 min and subsequently declined after 120 min; after 90 min of heating, the maximum yields in the absence of cysteine were 1151.04 ± 14.01 and 3386.90 ± 26.55 ng mL −1 , respectively. The concentration of pyrraline (Pyr) increased after 30 min and then decreased after 60 min with a maximum yield of 777.68 ± 23.36 ng mL −1 . However, in dry‐heating models, the AGE concentrations consistently increased with increasing heating time; the maximum yields for CML, CEL and Pyr were 468.66 ± 10.96, 1993.57 ± 14.81 and 1085.74 ± 58.06 ng mL −1 , respectively. The addition of cysteine showed an inhibitory effect on AGE formation, especially for Pyr in the dry‐heating model, with inhibition rates ranging from 17.14% to 95.60%. CONCLUSION Although wet‐heating models produced more CML and CEL, they produced less Pyr than dry‐heating models. The AGE formation in wet‐heating models positively correlated with the reaction rate; however, the dry‐heating reaction demonstrated a more complex relationship between reaction rate and reaction protocol. Moreover, cysteine exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on AGE production, and the degree of inhibition was proportional to the cysteine concentration. This study provides important insights into the mechanisms for AGE formation under various heating conditions, such as those representing baking (dry‐heating) and steaming conditions (wet‐heating). © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.