MAILLARD BROWNING KINETICS IN A LIQUID MODEL SYSTEM

Liquid model systems containing varying concentrations of glucose and glycine in a 0.1 M phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 were stored at 37-degrees-C. Formation of brown pigments and fluorescent compounds as well as the loss of glucose and glycine was monitored over time. Glucose and glycine loss individually followed first-order kinetics and second order overall, as predicted mechanistically. Amino acid loss went into a no-loss period, as expected mechanistically from Bodenstein steady-state kinetics. The rate of browning and fluorescence formation followed pseudo-zero-order kinetics after an induction period and increased when either reactant concentration was increased with the other remaining constant up to a certain level.