Advances in the biomimetic and Maillard route synthesis and regulation of pyrazine flavour compounds.
- 1School of Tobacco Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry No. 136 Ke Xue Avenue Zhengzhou Henan 450002 People's Republic of China [email protected].
Abstract
Pyrazines are nitrogen-containing heterocyclic flavour compounds characterized by roasted, nutty, and coffee-like aroma notes, and play a key role in the flavour quality of thermally processed foods. Biomimetic and Maillard route synthesis enables efficient generation of pyrazine flavourants from readily available、renewable natural precursors, offering green and sustainable advantages. This review systematically summarizes the research progress in this field since the 1960s, following three main threads: precursor types, formation mechanisms, and regulatory strategies. It reviews the pyrazine-forming capabilities of various precursors including small-molecule carbonyl compounds, sugar-amino acid/ammonia systems, hydroxy amino acids, lipid degradation products, ascorbic acid, and peptides/proteins. Multiple coexisting mechanistic pathways are elucidated, including α-aminoketone condensation-oxidation, free radical pathways, azomethine ylide dimerisation, and peptide-involved mechanisms. The regulatory effects of temperature, pH, precursor structure, reaction media, and emerging technologies on pyrazine yield and distribution are summarized, and the application of computational chemistry in mechanistic studies is discussed. Finally, future research directions are prospected from the perspectives of peptide structure-product relationships, multi-component network analysis, data-driven synthesis, and engineering scale-up, aiming to provide theoretical guidance for the design and efficient preparation of pyrazine flavourants.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026advances,
title = {{Advances in the biomimetic and Maillard route synthesis and regulation of pyrazine flavour compounds.}},
author = {Bingyang Wang and Yao Zhao and Lianchen Zhao and Wentao Zhu and Jie Ren},
journal = {RSC advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6ra07015a},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924089},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Advances in the biomimetic and Maillard route synthesis and regulation of pyrazine flavour compounds.
AU - Bingyang Wang
AU - Yao Zhao
AU - Lianchen Zhao
AU - Wentao Zhu
AU - Jie Ren
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - RSC advances
DO - 10.1039/d6ra07015a
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924089
AB - Pyrazines are nitrogen-containing heterocyclic flavour compounds characterized by roasted, nutty, and coffee-like aroma notes, and play a key role in the flavour quality of thermally processed foods. Biomimetic and Maillard route synthesis enables efficient generation of pyrazine flavourants from readily available、renewable natural precursors, offering green and sustainable advantages. This review systematically summarizes the research progress in this field since the 1960s, following three main threads: precursor types, formation mechanisms, and regulatory strategies. It reviews the pyrazine-forming capabilities of various precursors including small-molecule carbonyl compounds, sugar-amino acid/ammonia systems, hydroxy amino acids, lipid degradation products, ascorbic acid, and peptides/proteins. Multiple coexisting mechanistic pathways are elucidated, including α-aminoketone condensation-oxidation, free radical pathways, azomethine ylide dimerisation, and peptide-involved mechanisms. The regulatory effects of temperature, pH, precursor structure, reaction media, and emerging technologies on pyrazine yield and distribution are summarized, and the application of computational chemistry in mechanistic studies is discussed. Finally, future research directions are prospected from the perspectives of peptide structure-product relationships, multi-component network analysis, data-driven synthesis, and engineering scale-up, aiming to provide theoretical guidance for the design and efficient preparation of pyrazine flavourants.
SN - 2046-2069
ER -