Quantitative assessment of furosine, furfurals, and advanced glycation end products in different types of commercially available cheeses

• Published in: Food control 2022-06, Vol.136, p.108866, Article 108866
• Main Authors: Li, Mingyu, Lu, Jingnan, Huang, Yousheng, Wang, Wenjing, Xie, Jianhua, Xie, Mingyong, Shen, Mingyue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs); Cheese; cheeses; fermentation; food safety; Furfurals; Furosine; Maillard reaction; Maillard reaction products; mass spectrometry; Nε-carboxyethyllysine (CEL); Nε-carboxymethyllysine (CML); pasteurization; proximate composition
• ISSN: 0956-7135; 1873-7129
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2022.108866

The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of Maillard reaction products of different types of commercially available cheeses. Cheeses are the commonly consumed dairy products characterized by their many different flavors, textures and aromas. Pasteurization, fermentation and ripening are the key steps of cheese manufacturing, which might lead to the formation of some harmful products. In this study, furosine, furfurals, two “representative” advanced glycation end products (AGEs) were analyzed by gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The content of furosine in cheeses were the highest, followed by AGEs, while levels of furfurals were relatively low. The contents of these Maillard reaction products in hard and semi-hard cheeses were significantly higher than those in soft and semi-soft cheeses. Finally, the correlation between proximate composition and Maillard reaction products was further analyzed. •The 32 cheeses are divided into two main categories based on their moisture content.•Furosine, furfurals, and advanced glycation end products in cheeses were quantitated.•Hard cheeses had higher contents of furfurals and advanced glycation end products.•Cheeses had the highest content of furosine and very low levels of furfurals.•Correlation analysis between proximate composition and furosine, furfurals, and AGEs.