Reduction of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural formation by flavan‐3‐ols in Maillard reaction models and fried potato chips

Abstract BACKGROUND 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is regarded as a thermal process contaminant in foods. Six flavan‐3‐ol fractions were isolated or semisynthesized from sorghum, cranberry and grape seed. Their unit compositions, interflavan linkages and degree of polymerization were characterized. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of flavan‐3‐ols on the formation of HMF in chemical reaction models and fried potato chips. RESULTS Results showed that all flavan‐3‐ols significantly mitigated the HMF formation at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 µg mL −1 in the chemical model system, and the inhibition was positively related to dose. Using the food model, HMF content was reduced by about 50% when potato chips were soaked in an optimal concentration of 0.1 mg mL −1 flavan‐3‐ol solutions before frying. Based on the same mass concentration, B‐type flavan‐3‐ols mitigated more HMF than A‐type, and oligomeric proanthocyanidins had stronger inhibitory activity than polymers. At suitable addition levels (0.01–0.1 mg mL −1 ), the browning of auto‐oxidized flavan‐3‐ols under high temperature compensated the anti‐browning effect along with the supression of the Maillard reaction; therefore, the color of fried potato chips was not affected. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that flavan‐3‐ols could be effective additives for reducing HMF levels in fried potato chips without changing sensory properties. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry