Impact of amino acids and sugars after thermal processing on acrylamide formation in synthetic potato models and real potatoes

Abstract

Amino acids and sugars, along with the thermal processing, are considered the main parameters to control acrylamide formation in fried potatoes. To evaluate which of these parameters had the greatest influence, 10 synthetic potato-starch-based models formulated in different amino acid and/or sugar combinations and three potato cultivars were assigned. High-performance-liquid chromatography and gas chromatography flame-ionized-detectors were applied to quantify amino acids, sugars, and acrylamide. Results showed that reducing sugars and sucrose significantly increased acrylamide formation amongst all potato samples. Synthetic potato models Asn-GFS contained the highest amount of acrylamide compared to Glu-Fru and real potatoes (Agria and Kennebec). Thus, sugars were considered critical factors for acrylamide formation in potatoes and remained the most practical way of reducing its production.