ABSTRACT
The heating of proteins in the presence of reducing sugars results in the formation of amino acid-sugar complexes in the initial stage of the Maillard reaction. The use of amino acid supplementation or of predigestion treatments in some foods increases the possibility of finding other fructose amino acids. The absorption, metabolism, and urinary excretion of ϵ-fructoselysine (FL), the main lysine-carbohydrate reaction product in heat damaged proteins, was measured in experiments with rats and human volunteers. The depression in the absorption rates in the rats by the antibiotics supports the idea that the microflora in the intestine had an important influence. Under the conditions of normal nutrition, where lower intakes of FL can be expected, the absorption rate may be generally higher. The experiments with human volunteers indicate a generally poor absorption.
