The role of the anion in the reaction of reducing sugars with ammonium salts

Reactions of reducing sugars with ammonia and its compounds are important commercially, particularly in the preparation of flavors and caramel colors. However, such reactions generally produce a complex series of products ranging from simple molecules to complex polymeric materials, particularly since commercial systems generally involve mixtures of sugars as opposed to single sugars. This complexity has made understanding the mechanisms of such reactions difficult. Therefore, investigatory work has generally been focused on model systems. Herein we report one such study with model systems: the effects of the nature of the anion of the reactions of reducing sugars with ammonium salts. D-Glucose was reacted in aqueous solution with each of the following ammonium salts: acetate, bicarbonate, carbonate, chloride, citrate, formate, monohydrogenphosphate (DAP), sulfate, and sulfite. These reactions were carried out in a Parr bomb at 93 degrees C for 2.5 h. The initial pH of the reaction mixtures was adjusted to pH 8.0 at 25 degrees C. The resulting mixtures were analyzed by LC-MS, and the results were analyzed by comparing the product yields and distributions with those obtained with DAP. The major reaction product of interest was 2,6-deoxyfructosazine, as it had been shown to be a marker for the polymeric material formed from such reactions. It was found that ammonium salts of weak acids were much more effective in effecting the desired reactions than were those of strong acids; however, none was as effective as DAP.