Effects of reaction medium type and concentration on the physicochemical properties and flavors of soybean meal hydrolysate-based Maillard reaction products

Abstract

Tailoring the Maillard reaction (MR) can improve the flavor of soybean meal hydrolysates (SMH). This study showed that the type and concentration of the reaction medium, including glycerol, sorbitol or polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400) in water, greatly affected the MR (115 °C, 60 min) of SMH with a reducing sugar mixture (d-xylose/d-ribose, 2:1). These media accelerated the MR and enriched greatly the volatile compounds of the MR products (SMH-MRPs), even improving their sensory attributes (e.g. meaty flavor, umaminess and overall liking). Comparisons on MRPs’ pH values, amino acid nitrogen contents, browning intensities, amino acid profiles, peptide size distributions, volatile profiles and sensory attributes revealed that the influences of the reaction media on SMH-MRPs decreased in the order of PEG400-water > glycerol-water > sorbitol-water. An intermediate glycerol or sorbitol concentration made MRPs more desirable. The added medium, key aroma-active compounds, amino acids and sensory descriptors were correlated.