Jasper Kerns

Senior Project Advisor

Sergey Smirnov

Document Type

Project

Publication Date

Spring 2024

Keywords

MSG, amino acid, Maillard Reaction, reducing sugar, mass spec, nmr

Abstract

Food additives despite relevant applications in food have received unprecedented backlash over recent decades, this project aims to discourage some of this stigma using organic chemistry. As consumer knowledge begins to grow though with the accessibility of the internet, so does consumer misinformation; central to this is the molecule MSG (monosodium glutamate). This food additive, most common in Eastern Asian cuisine, has been a hot topic for decades receiving stigma that it is generally not deserving of. While much information about this molecule is murky at best, it has a potential application in chemistry that many cooks are keenly aware of - the Maillard Reaction. This reaction is the source of browning of food at high temperatures and uses amino acids derived from proteins and reducing sugars as its primary reactants. MSG being an amino acid, stabilized by an added sodium ion could therefore be used to simulate this reaction without full length proteins.

Department

Chemistry

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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