Potentially Harmful Maillard Reaction Products in Food and Herb Medicines

Abstract

The Maillard reaction is of great significance in food, herb medicines, and life processes. It is usually occurring during the process of food and herb medicines processing and storage. The formed Maillard reaction productions (MRPs) in food and herb medicines not only generate a large number of efficacy components but also generate a small amount of harmful substance that cannot be ignored. Some of the MRPs, especially the advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are concerning humans, based on the possibility to induce cancer and mutations in laboratory animals. Numerous studies have been reported on the formation, analysis, and control of the potentially harmful MRPs (PHMRPs). Therefore, the investigation into the formation, analysis, and control of PHMRPs in food and herb medicines is very important for improving the quality and safety of food and herb medicines. This article provides a brief review of the formation, analysis (major content), and control of PHMRPs in food and herb medicines, which will provide a base and reference for safe processing and storage of food and herb medicines. Practical Applications. The formed Maillard reaction productions in food and herb medicines not only generate a large number of functional components but also generate a small amount of harmful substance that cannot be ignored. This contribution provides a brief review on the formation (including the correlative studies between MRs and the PHMRPs, mechanisms, and the main pathways); analysis (major content, pretreatment for analysis, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and structural identification analysis); and control (strategies and mechanisms) of PHMRPs in food and herb medicines, which will provide a solid theoretical foundation and a valuable reference for safe processing and storage for food and herb medicines.