The synthesis of 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-2H-furan-3-one in strawberry:: Chemistry or biochemistry?

The biosynthesis of 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-2H-furan-3-one (DMHF), probably the most important component of strawberry flavour, is the focus point of this work. The role of 6-deoxy-D-fructose as a precursor of DMHF is further studied here. Heat-treated strawberry cells have been incubated with 6-deoxy-D-fructose or sucrose and the levels of DMHF and derivatives have been screened over this incubation period. These levels sharply decrease, which strongly suggests that under these conditions there is no formation of DMHF and derivatives due to a Maillard reaction. This result is discussed with correlation to the bioformation of DMHF-glucoside when 6-deoxy-D-fructose was fed to strawberry callus cultures.