The Combination of Sugars with Biomolecules: From the Kitchen to the Organism.

ROSSI, J.P.F.C.

MEDICINA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2007 vol. 67

JUAN PABLO ROSSI Departamento de Química Biológica, Instituto de Química y Fisicoquímica Biológicas, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica Palabras clave: azúcares reductores, glicación, proteínas, diabetes, envejecimiento Abstract: The combination of sugars with biomolecules: from the kitchen to the organism In spite of our profession, when we cook we do not think too much about the complex processes that take place in culinary operations from the chemical point of view. Our human nature makes us desire not only a meal that nourishes us, but also surprises our senses and satisfies us spiritually. In order to introduce ourselves in the complexity of food, it is necessary to understand the difference between taste and flavor and to relate them to food as an outcome of a diverse combination of biomolecules. We owe to certain chemical reactions the generation of an enormous variety of aromatic compounds that combined in a suitable way, produce the meals which we enjoy daily. Most of this subject revolves around Louis Camille Maillard, a French physician who, at the beginning of XX century, studied the combination of sugars with proteins. His main contribution was that he related culinary processes to those which take place in our body. It has been broadly verified scientifically that the Maillard reaction –also known as nonenzymatic glycosylation- modifies biomolecules deeply. In the organism, Maillard reactions are similar to those which happen in the kitchen but they occur more slowly and are associated with disease and aging. Key words: reducing sugars, glycation, proteins, diabetes, aging