Analysis of Maillard reaction products
Analysis of Carboxymethyllysine (CML)
Another type of Maillard reaction products is “Advanced Glycation Endproducts” (AGEs) which occur in vivo (human body) where it’s related to pro-oxidative and pro-inflammatory effect but does occur in nutritional products as well. Reaction of the ε-aminogroup of lysine with the oxidation product of glucose, glyoxal or methylglyoxal, leads to formation of N-carboxymethyllysine (CML) or N-carboxyethyllysine (CEL).
As a secondary route, CML can be also formed by oxidation of the Amadori product fructosyl-lysine. CML is formed in food through various pathways and can be determined as free form as well as protein-bound form. Next to furosine, CML serves as suitable marker food quality, especially for those products that has been more severely heated or has a higher content of fructose and where determination of furosine solely would result in under-estimation of the heat damage.