New Melanoidin-like Maillard Polymers from 2-Deoxypentoses

In the 2-deoxy-D-ribose/methyl 4-aminobutyrate Maillard system a trapped N-substituted 2-(hydroxymethyl)pyrrole is one of the major products. However, nontrapped representatives of this type of compound were hitherto not found in other Maillard model systems, indicating their extraordinary reactivity. Model experiments with 2-deoxy-D-ribose/methylamine enabled the detection of N-methyl-2-(hydroxymethyl)pyrrole (1) and some derived linear oligomers (2, 3) as minor components. Consequently, 1 was synthesized and its oligomerization studied under very mild acidic conditions. The deformylated dimeric bis(N-methyl-2-pyrrolyl)methane (2) and trimeric N-methyl-2,5-bis(N-methyl-2-pyrrolylmethyl)pyrrole (3) were characterized by GC/MS and NMR. Higher regular oligomers up to 6 N-methyl-2-pyrrolylmethyl units as well as corresponding dehydro-oligomers up to 12 units were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. A complementary experiment starting with N-methyl-2-hydroxy[(13)C]methylpyrrole ([(13)CH(2)OH]-1) confirmed the structure and the oligomerization pathway. The possible significance of this type of model oligomer for the melanoidin formation in Maillard reactions is discussed. The antioxidative activity of the isolated dimer and trimer was tested in Fe(III)-thiocyanate and DPPH assays.