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Review
. 2021 Aug 25;10(9):1998.
doi: 10.3390/foods10091998.

A Literature Review on Maillard Reaction Based on Milk Proteins and Carbohydrates in Food and Pharmaceutical Products: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Avoidance Strategies

Jia Xiang  1 , Fenglin Liu  1 , Bo Wang  1 , Lin Chen  1 , Wenjie Liu  1 , Songwen Tan  1
Affiliations
Review

A Literature Review on Maillard Reaction Based on Milk Proteins and Carbohydrates in Food and Pharmaceutical Products: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Avoidance Strategies

Jia Xiang et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Milk has two main components that have high nutritional value-milk protein (casein and whey protein), and lactose. These components are extensively used in various areas, especially in food, i.e., as sweeteners, stabilizers, functional food ingredients, nutritional fortifiers, etc. Non-enzymatic browning refers to a series of chemical reactions between sugars and proteins that make food more appetizing. Non-enzymatic browning reactions include degradation of ascorbic acid, lipid peroxidation, caramel reaction, and the Maillard reaction (MR). The MR, as one of the four non-enzymatic browning reactions, has been well studied and utilized in food fields. Milk protein and lactose, as two main components of milk, have high chemical activities; they are used as reactants to participate in the MR, generating Maillard reaction products (MRPs). The MR involves a condensation reaction between carbonyl groups of various sugars and amino groups of amino acids/proteins. These MRPs have different applications in various areas, including food flavor, food oxidation resistance, drug carriers, etc. This work presents the positive and negative effects of the MR, based on the two main components of milk, used in food and medicine, as well as avoidance approaches to prevent the occurrence of negative effects.

Keywords: Maillard reaction; avoidance approaches; food; lactose; medicine; milk protein.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The composition of milk.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Maillard reaction, based on milk ingredients in food and pharmaceutical products.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The process of the Maillard reaction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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