Acrylamide formation during pan-frying of mung bean sprouts

Abstract

Acrylamide (AA) in foods is mainly generated from free asparagine through the Maillard reaction with reducing sugars. Mung bean sprouts are often eaten pan-fried (stir-fried or sauteed). The Food Safety Committee in Japan estimated that the intake of AA from pan-fried/sauteed sprouts was substantially high. Here we analyzed AA formation during pan-frying of mung bean sprouts. Raw sprouts contained about 780, 600, and 380 mg/100 g of fructose, glucose, and asparagine, respectively. The sprouts turned brown gradually during pan-frying, and the AA content increased with up to 9 min of heating; AA of 100 and 200 µg/100 g raw sample was reached after 3 and 9 min of heating, respectively. The sugar content decreased during pan-frying, although the asparagine content did not decrease significantly. When a homogenate of mung bean sprouts was incubated with asparaginase, the asparagine content and the AA generated by pan-frying were reduced. When the sprouts were pretreated at 37 °C for 3 h or 60 °C for 1 h, the AA formation by pan-frying was mitigated.