Evaluation of radical products from beta-alanine/sugar mixtures by use of GC-MS with the galvinoxyl radical

We have quantified the radical production of Maillard systems with beta-ala nine and different sugars by a method that uses the free radical scavenger capacity of galvinoxyl (2,6-di-tert-butyl-alpha-(3,5-ditert-butyl-4-oxo-2,5 -cyclohexadiene-1-ylidene)-p-tolyloxy) and a GC-MS separation and quantific ation. We have compared the results with the spectrophotometrical conclusio ns and highlight the importance of the radical production in the Maillard s ystems. The method is precise (CV < 5%), accurate (> 97%), sensitive (limit of detection 10 ng/mL galvinoxyl), and may be used for the detection and q uantification of radical activity in the chemical and biological systems.