Characterization of Early Stage Maillard Reaction Products using MALDI Mass Spectrometry and PTM finderTM Software

Introduction

The Maillard reaction (Maillard L-C 1912 Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'academie des sciences 154 66-68) occurs non-enzymatically between the reducing end of a sugar (C=0) and a reactive NH 2 group of a protein. The detailed characterization of the reaction products is of high importance in the field of food processing but also in physiologies and pathologies of human diseases such as the chronic vascular complications of diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and ageing. In this study the reaction of human serum albumin (HSA) and standard peptides with glucose, maltose and lactose was investigated. The molecular mass of the whole glycated HSA and the total mass of sugars that reacted with the protein were measured. HSA was then digested in order to locate the reaction sites of each sugar. Modified peptides were fragmented using CID experiments in order obtain signatures at the MS/MS level.

December 6, 2013 GMT