Study on the Maillard Reaction Enhanced by Pulsed Electric Field in a Glycin–Glucose Model System

Effects of pulsed electric field (PEF) on glycin and glucose content, browning value, and antioxidant activity of a glycin–glucose solution were explored. Results showed that at PEF intensity of 40 kV/cm, the solution’s absorbance at 420 nm was significantly increased from 0 to approximately 0.17 after 7.35-ms treatment. The temperature of PEF-treated samples was overall lower than 40 °C. It was also detected that the antioxidant activity of treated sample was increased to 39.36%. Moreover, 13.09% glycin and 50.76% glucose were consumed during the Maillard reaction in this experiment. This study indicates that pulsed electric field treatment, especially with higher intensity over 30 kV/cm, is a promising method to significantly promote the Maillard reaction in glycin–glucose solution.