Occurrence of Maillard reaction products during green extraction of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides using deep
Mengru Yu1, Rubi Zhang1, Xiaoyu Yin1
1College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Food Processing and Safety in Forestry, Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Sustainable Utilization and Development of Forest Food Resources, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are championed as green, high-efficiency extractants for food polysaccharides, yet the risk that DES may trigger Maillard reaction (MR) remains largely unrecognized. Here, eight commonly used DESs were employed to extract Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs). While yields reached 7.4-23.7 % and purities 42.5-85.3 %, all DES extracts exhibited pronounced browning, with brown indices 2.8- to 7.3-fold higher than those of hot-water extracts; the glucose-citric acid DES was the most aggressive. UV-vis, FTIR, and XPS confirmed the incorporation of characteristic MRP signatures (CN, CO). Targeted chemical profiling revealed 1.3- to 35.9-fold higher intermediate MRPs (HMF, MF, GO, MGO), 1.0- to 1.6-fold higher AGEs, and 0.8- to 5.7-fold more melanoidins versus the aqueous control, underscoring potential safety concerns even for natural DESs. This first safety-oriented assessment urges the field to evolve DES extraction from efficient-green to safe-green.
