Effect of supercritical carbon dioxide treatment on the Maillard reaction in model food systems

The effect of supercritical carbon dioxide treatment on the development of the Maillard reaction in powdered model systems of lactose/ovine caseinmacropeptide and lactose/β-lactoglobulin at different pH values was studied. Supercritical carbon dioxide treatments in static conditions at 30 MPa and 50 °C for up to 5 h were applied to model systems. Control experiments at 50 °C were also performed. All assayed model systems treated with carbon dioxide under supercritical conditions showed lower extent of the Maillard reaction than control treated samples. Differences between supercritical carbon dioxide treated and control samples increased with pH. These results indicate that supercritical carbon dioxide treatment of food samples does not favour the Maillard reaction and thus can be applied in foods that may require special care to avoid excessive loss of available lysine.