Typical reactive carbonyl compounds in food products: Formation, influence on food quality, and detection methods

Abstract

Reactive carbonyl compounds are a large group of highly reactive electrophilic compounds containing one or more carbonyl groups, which can be created by lipid oxidation both in vivo and in food. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenel (HNE) are the two most important reactive carbonyl compounds in food. They can react with proteins and nucleic acids and cause biological damage to cells and lead to carbonyl stress. Therefore, they are regarded as representative products of lipid oxidation, toxic molecules, and biomarkers of oxidative stress. Apart from biological toxicity, they can also react with myoglobin and myofibrillar protein and further affect color, gel properties, hydrophobicity, or other properties of food. However, the effects of MDA and HNE on food qualities have not received as much attentions and it is noteworthy that the existing analytical methods for detecting MDA and HNE have a variety of limitations due to the complexity of food samples. To provide a comprehensive understanding of HNE and MDA, the formation mechanism, occurrence, and analytical methods for MDA and HNE in food matrix were summarized in this article. Emphasis is focused on formation mechanism including non‐enzymatic pathway and enzymatic pathway, and detection methods including the extraction methods, the new development of sample pre‐treatment technology and the selection of derivative reagents. Impressively, the reaction mechanism of MDA and HNE with myoglobin or myofibrillar protein is also described to explain how MDA and HNE affect food quality.

Effect of Malondialdehyde on the Digestibility of Beef Myofibrillar Protein: Potential Mechanisms from Structure to Modification Site

“…The oxidation of meat protein is always triggered by lipid oxidation [ 4 ]. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is the main lipid oxidation product in meat and meat products [ 5 ]. MDA contains two highly reactive carbonyl groups that can attack nucleophilic amino acid side chains, leading to oxidative damage of proteins [ 6 ].…”

Large volume headspace GC/MS analysis for the identification of volatile compounds relating to seafood decomposition

“…They can be produced by lipid peroxidation. The primary products of lipid oxidation, such as conjugated dienes and hydroperoxides, may be indicators of the initial stage of oxidative degradation (Zhou et al., 2020). In the current study, however, 2,4‐octadiene was not found to be a chemical indicator for any species.…”

“…It is likely that diacetyl production is increased with aeration (Dillon, 2014) and mahi‐mahi are mostly found in the surface water. Moreover, mono‐ketones could be gradually derived from hydroperoxides through the splitting of fatty acid chains (Zhou et al., 2020). It was found that 2‐heptanone and 3‐hexanone were not possible chemical indicators of decomposition for any species, while others (2‐butanone, 2‐nonanone, 2‐pentanone, 2‐undecanone, 3‐pentanone, and 3‐methyl‐2‐butanone) could be chemical indicators for certain species.…”

Effect of frying on the lipid oxidation and volatile substances in grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idellus ) fillet

“…The CV of fried sample was significantly increased to 49.95 μmol/g after heating at 200°C for 8 min compared with the fresh grass carp fillets (20.03 μmol/g). According to ISO 2200, the maximum allowable CV in frying oil was 50 μmol/g (Zhou et al., 2020). Volatile substances including aldehydes and ketones in the fish meat during frying were produced by the oxidation of fish oil.…”