Antioxidant activity of oligochitosan Maillard reaction products using oligochitosan as the amino or carbonyl groups donors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of oligochitosan (COS) as amino (–NH2) or carbonyl group (–C=O) donors on the antioxidant activities of COS Maillard reaction (MR) products. Two kinds of COS MR products (COS MRPs) were prepared by using COS and glucose/α-alanine, respectively. Their structures were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), their molecular weights (Mws) were measured by gel permeation chromatography, and the –NH2 contents of COS MRPs were determined. The antioxidant activities of COS MRPs were evaluated by measuring the scavenging activity of superoxide anion radical (O2 −), 1,1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical, and the reducing power. The result showed that C=N absorbance can be observed in CG (MRPs of COS and glucose) and CA (MRPs of COS and α-alanine). The Mw of COS increased after MR. CG and CA showed dramatically enhanced antioxidant activity compared to COS, and the antioxidant activity of CG was better than that of CA. In other words, MR is an efficient way to enhance the antioxidant activity of COS. Moreover, it is a more efficient way to enhance the antioxidant activity of COS by using COS as amino group donor involved in MR. The results may provide some references to the modification and application of COS.