The Decomposition of Hydroxymethylfurfural in solution and the Protective Effect of Fructose. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

WUNDERLIN, D.A; PESCE, S.F; AMÉ, MARÍA VALERIA; FAYE, P.F.

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY

ACS Publications

Lugar: Davis, USA; Año: 1998 vol. 46 p. 1855 - 1863

0021-8561

Time-course changes were studied for both HMF concentration and spectral curve shape during storage of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) solutions at 4-8 or 22-25°C. A significant and progressive decrease in absorbance at 284 nm was observed, with the concomitant appearance of a new band at 252 nm, both in standard HMF solutions and HMF solutions mixed with glucose, sucrose, maltose or lactose. The extent of these changes depended mainly upon the initial HMF concentration and were affected by both the storage temperature and the time between the preparation of the solution and the spectrophotometric measurement. The changes were less significant in the presence of fructose, honey or high-fructose corn syrup. The results indicate that fructose has a protective effect on HMF decomposition in solution. To avoid HMF decomposition, the solution should be kept at 4-8° and the spectrophotometric measurement should be made within 6 h after sample preparation. Honey solutions with high initial HMF concentration showed significantly lower concentrations when they were clarified by ultrafiltration, compared with the usual clarification with Carrez reagent. This may be attributed to deficient sample deproteination, which is improved either by ultrafiltration or by using a larger amount of Carrez reagent.