Determination of Acrylamide Formed in Asparagine/d-Glucose Maillard Model Systems by Using Gas Chromatography with Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction

Abstract

A gas chromatographic method, along with a headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), was developed for the determination of acrylamide formed in Maillard reaction model systems. The developed method was validated by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. A headspace sample was collected from an aqueous acrylamide solution (100 microg/mL) by SPME and directly injected into a gas chromatograph equipped with a nitrogen-phosphorus detector. The recovery of acrylamide from an aqueous solution was satisfactory, i.e, >93% under the conditions used. Acrylamide formed in an asparagine/D-glucose (molar ratio, 1/2) Maillard reaction model system heated at 150 and 170 degrees C for 20 min was collected and analyzed by the newly developed method using gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection and HS-SPME. The amounts of acrylamide were 318 +/- 33 microg/g asparagine from a sample heated at 150 degrees C and 3329 +/- 176 microg/g asparagine from a sample heated at 170 degrees C. Addition of cysteamine or glutathione to the above model system reduced acrylamide formation. Acrylamide formation was not observed when cysteamine or glutathione was added to asparagine in the above model systems to obtain equimolar concentrations of both compounds. This newly developed method is simple and sensitive, and requires no solvent extraction.