Effect of Maillard reaction conditions on radical scavenging activity of porcine haemoglobin hydrolysate-sugar model system.

Radical scavenging activity (RSA) of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) made up from porcine haemoglobin hydrolysate (PHH)-sugar model system was tested. RSA of MRPs derived from PHH-xylose system was about fourfold and threefold higher than that of PHH and PHH-glucose MRPs, respectively, which was because of the cyclic form of the xylose. The increase in RSA of MRPs was attributable not only to the sugar type and concentration, but also to the buffer type and temperature. Phosphate buffer was more efficient than citrate or Tris-HCl buffers. As the temperature increase, RSA of MRPs increased and some intermediates polymerised to form brown pigments. Generally, RSA exhibited a significant correlation with the intermediates formation and browning development ( P < 0.05). Electrophoresis study revealed that molecular rearrangements could be involved in the improvement of the RSA. Conjugating PHH with xylose by Maillard reaction is a promising method to improve the RSA of PHH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]