Thermal interaction of ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate with proteins in relation to nonenzymatic browning and maillard reactions of foods

Baking of proteins at 215 o C in admixture with sodium L-ascorbate severely aggravated the antinutritional effects in mice but L-ascorbic acid ameliorated their toxic activity. In the present work, thermal analysis of these materials was performed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in oxygen in order to clarify their different reactivities. DSC curves of gluten and casein were similar but differed from that of soybean protein isolate. Thermochemical aspects of crust baking and high temperature food browning are discuted