Use of sacrificial anode technology to mitigate non-enzymic Maillard browning

Experiments were performed to examine the effects of Maillard browning induced in the presence of metallic elements. The rate of brown pigment formation was shown to be reduced in model Maillard reactions performed in the presence of electropositive metals. Experiments involved reactions of d-xylose, d-arabinose and d-ribose with glycine, α-l- or β-alanine and l-valine in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer at ca. 100°C. "Browning" measured spectrophotometrically at 420nm was significantly lower (compared with controls) in selected reactions containing elemental Mg, Al, Mn and Sn particles. It was hypothesized that the metals acted in sacrificial anode redox fashion to reduce or eliminate dehydroreductones believed to be key Maillard intermediates ultimately leading to less browning.