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Toasty Oat Aroma Influenced By Presence Of Health-linked Polyphenols

Date:
September 27, 2005
Source:
Penn State
Summary:
Penn State food scientists have shown that the amount of health-linked polyphenols present during roasting or baking influences the toasty aroma developed by oats and might be used to limit the generation of off-flavors in oat products.
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Penn State food scientists have shown that the amount of health-linkedpolyphenols present during roasting or baking influences the toastyaroma developed by oats and might be used to limit the generation ofoff-flavors in oat products.

Polyphenols are a large family of naturally occurring plantcomponents that have been associated with a wide variety of healthbenefits. Flavonoids and some anti-oxidants belong to the polyphenolfamily and have been shown to have heart-healthy and anti-cancereffects, for example.

The polyphenols the Penn State team studied were hydroxycinnamic acids,which have been associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases or foroptimal health.

Dr. Devin Peterson, assistant professor of food science and director ofthe study, says, "Our research has shown that polyphenols are key toaroma and flavor formation in oats during the Maillard reaction whichis the browning process that occurs when foods are roasted or baked.Polyphenols have not been identified as major flavor producers beforeor associated with the Maillard reaction." Peterson presented hisresults today at the national meeting of the American Chemical Societyin Washington, D. C. His paper is, "Effects of Phenolic Content on theGeneration of Maillard-type Aroma Compounds in Toasted Oat Groats". Hisco-authors are Stacy L. Schwambach, master's student, and Vandana A.Totlani, doctoral student.

In their experiments, Peterson and his research group took a batch ofrolled oats and divided it into two samples. They boosted the level ofpolyphenols in one of the samples by an amount that can be found innature and then roasted both samples. The sample that had the addedpolyphenols developed a lower level of Maillard-type aroma compounds asmeasured by gas chromatography and a panel of trained human sniffers.

The Penn State group's analyses show that the polyphenols inhibit theMaillard reaction by tying up or quenching some of the sugars and othertransient reaction products the process needs to proceed.

Peterson explains that the Maillard reaction not only producesdesirable changes, such as a golden brown color and toasty aroma, butalso can sometimes cause off-flavors or stale odors. The reaction notonly proceeds during roasting or baking but also during storing. Thenew Penn State results suggest that controlling the levels ofpolyphenols, which are found naturally in all food plants, mightprevent undesirable results of the Maillard reaction.

In addition, the Penn State scientist points out that the Maillardreaction also occurs in the human body as part of the aging process, intanning, hardening of the arteries, and diabetes as well as otherdiseases.

"The polyphenols' ability to quench sugars and inhibit the Maillardreaction may have positive implications for health besides improvingthe quality of food products," he says.

The study was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department ofAgriculture Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service(CSREES).

Polyphenols are a large family of naturally occurring plantcomponents that have been associated with a wide variety of healthbenefits. Flavonoids and some anti-oxidants belong to the polyphenolfamily and have been shown to have heart-healthy and anti-cancereffects, for example.

The polyphenols the Penn State team studied were hydroxycinnamic acids,which have been associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases or foroptimal health.

Dr. Devin Peterson, assistant professor of food science and director ofthe study, says, "Our research has shown that polyphenols are key toaroma and flavor formation in oats during the Maillard reaction whichis the browning process that occurs when foods are roasted or baked.Polyphenols have not been identified as major flavor producers beforeor associated with the Maillard reaction."

Peterson presented his results today at the national meeting of theAmerican Chemical Society in Washington, D. C. His paper is, "Effectsof Phenolic Content on the Generation of Maillard-type Aroma Compoundsin Toasted Oat Groats". His co-authors are Stacy L. Schwambach,master's student, and Vandana A. Totlani, doctoral student.

In their experiments, Peterson and his research group took a batch ofrolled oats and divided it into two samples. They boosted the level ofpolyphenols in one of the samples by an amount that can be found innature and then roasted both samples. The sample that had the addedpolyphenols developed a lower level of Maillard-type aroma compounds asmeasured by gas chromatography and a panel of trained human sniffers.

The Penn State group's analyses show that the polyphenols inhibit theMaillard reaction by tying up or quenching some of the sugars and othertransient reaction products the process needs to proceed.

Peterson explains that the Maillard reaction not only producesdesirable changes, such as a golden brown color and toasty aroma, butalso can sometimes cause off-flavors or stale odors. The reaction notonly proceeds during roasting or baking but also during storing. Thenew Penn State results suggest that controlling the levels ofpolyphenols, which are found naturally in all food plants, mightprevent undesirable results of the Maillard reaction.

In addition, the Penn State scientist points out that the Maillardreaction also occurs in the human body as part of the aging process, intanning, hardening of the arteries, and diabetes as well as otherdiseases.

"The polyphenols' ability to quench sugars and inhibit the Maillardreaction may have positive implications for health besides improvingthe quality of food products," he says.

###

The study was supported by a grantfrom the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research,Education and Extension Service (CSREES).


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Cite This Page:

Penn State. "Toasty Oat Aroma Influenced By Presence Of Health-linked Polyphenols." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 September 2005. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050927082214.htm>.
Penn State. (2005, September 27). Toasty Oat Aroma Influenced By Presence Of Health-linked Polyphenols. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 11, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050927082214.htm
Penn State. "Toasty Oat Aroma Influenced By Presence Of Health-linked Polyphenols." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050927082214.htm (accessed November 11, 2024).

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