The
effect of additional dl-methionine (Met) on the thermal
degradation of a methionine–glucose-derived Amadori rearrangement
product (MG-ARP) was investigated under different reaction conditions.
The resulting color formation and changes in the concentrations of
MG-ARP, Met, and α-dicarbonyl compounds were investigated. Additional
Met did not affect the degradation rate of MG-ARP but got involved
in subsequent reactions and resulted in a decrease in the contents
of C6-α-dicarbonyl compounds. During MG-ARP degradation,
the formation of glyoxal (GO) and methylglyoxal (MGO) was facilitated
by additional Met, through retro-aldolization reaction of C6-α-dicarbonyl compounds. This effect of Met addition was dependent
on the reaction temperature, and the consistent conclusion could be
made in a buffer system. The improvement of GO and MGO formation as
color precursors caused by the additional Met contributed to the acceleration
of browning formation.