Aqueous glucose/phenylalanine' (0.1 M with respect to each reactant) system
s were heated in an autoclave for 30 min at 140 degrees C, in the presence
of hexanal (0.04, 0.1, and 0.2 M) or FeCl2 (0.01 M). Results show that hexa
nal significantly inhibited color development at pH 5 and 6 and led to an i
ncrease of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural. Iron addition had similar effects at
pH 5, but only small effects at pH 6. The reaction routes proposed give key
roles to the alpha-dicarbonyl compounds, to the Strecker aldehyde, and to
the Schiff base formed by the reaction between hexanal and phenylalanine.