Abstract
The aldehydes formed by reaction between amino acids and hydrogen peroxide were investigated.
2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazones of the reaction products of glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, and phenylalanine with hydrogen peroxide all gave single spots on thin layer chromatograms. Comparison of the Rf values, UV absorption maxima, melting points and colors of the 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazones with those of standard carbonyl compouds showed that formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, 2-methylbutyraldehyde and phenylacetaldehyde, respectively, were produced from the above amino acids. It was considered that each of the amino acids was deaminated and decarboxylated by hydrogen peroxide. Acetaldehyde was also formed from sodium glutamate, aspartic acid and threonine. In the case of serine, formaldehyde was detected as a main reaction product. The amount of formaldehyde formed from serine was larger than that from glycine.
“Kamaboko”, “Hanpen”, herring roe and noodles which had been pretreated with hydrogen peroxide were found to have two to eight carbonyl components by thin layer chromatography. Acetaldehyde may be produced through the action of hydrogen peroxide on sodium glutamate, which is usually added to “Kamaboko” and “Hanpen” in large amounts.
