Effects of processing parameters and citric acid pre-treatment on acrylamide formation in deep-fried yellow split pea...

This study investigated acrylamide (AA) formation in dhal vade, a deep-fried snack made from yellow split peas, focusing on the influence of frying parameters and precursors. Using the Box-Behnken response surface methodology, the effects of frying time, temperature, asparagine, and glucose contents were evaluated. Frying time, temperature, and ASN significantly increased AA levels (p < 0.05), while glucose showed no significant effect (p = 0.20). The highest AA concentrations occurred at the maximum frying time and temperature. AA content showed a moderate negative correlation with moisture (r = -0.419), suggesting that rapid moisture loss enhances AA formation. Positive correlations were found with temperature (r = 0.768), time (r = 0.436), and weakly with ASN (r = 0.221) and glucose (r = 0.044). Pre-treatment of dhal with citric acid (CA) notably reduced AA by 40.7-58.6% in dhal vade and 20.6-33.1% in fried oil, depending on CA concentration (0.005 M and 0.01 M). AA content showed a moderate positive correlation with pH (0.482). The reduction may be attributed to CA-induced protonation of asparagine, delayed AA-forming reactions from water uptake, and leaching of precursors through tissue modification. Overall, optimising frying conditions and incorporating CA pre-treatment effectively minimise AA formation in dhal vade.