Sensory Characteristics and Antioxidant Activities of Maillard Reaction Products from Soy Protein Hydrolysates with Different Molecular Weight Distribution

Soy protein was hydrolyzed using two enzymes to obtain soy protein hydrolysate (SPH), the SPH was fractionated with ultrafiltration membranes to obtain peptide fractions below 1,000 Da (SP1) and 1,000-5,000 Da (SP2), and for the meantime, SPH was further completely hydrolyzed to get compound amino acids (CAA). Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were prepared from aqueous xylose-SPH/SP1/SP2/CAA model systems by heating at 120A degrees C for 2.0 h. Compared with the original hydrolysates and other MRPs, the MRPs from SP2 exhibited a distinctly enhanced effect on flavor, including the caramel-like, soy sauce-like odors, umami and mouthful tastes and a greatly reduced bitterness in consommeA ' soup. Antioxidant activities of SPH, SP1, SP2, CAA, and their MRPs were investigated through reducing power, DPPH radical-scavenging activity, and Fe2+ chelating activity. Before Maillard reaction, the antioxidant activities of peptide fractions with different molecular weights were quite different, and SP2 showed the highest activity; however, CAA exhibited very poor antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activities of SPH, SP1, SP2, and CAA were greatly enhanced by Maillard reaction, and the MRPs prepared from xylose-CAA model system exhibited a higher antioxidant activity than those from other model systems. Pyrazines, pyrroles, furans, and thiazoles were significantly correlated with reducing power and Fe2+ chelating activity by principal component analysis.