AGE Markers in Fish and Fish Products

The Maillard reaction starts between the carbonyl group of reducing sugars and the amino group

of amino acids, peptides, or proteins, and takes place during the processing and storage of foods.

In addition to contributing to foods’ flavor and color properties, the reaction can also show

antioxidant and/or antimicrobial effects. In addition to its positive contributions, it can also

cause the formation of toxic compounds called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). N

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(carboxymethyl) lysine, NƐ

-(carboxyethyl) lysine, pentosidine, imidazolone, glyoxal-lysine

dimer, methylglyoxal lysine dimer, and pyrraline are the best-known AGEs. The number of

AGEs identified has been increasing in recent years, and studies for the determination of

Maillard reaction products are gaining momentum. Many factors (pH, water activity, reducing

sugar and free amino group concentration, heat treatment temperature and duration, metal ions,

oxygen, and storage) are effective in the formation of AGE. Diet is considered to be the most

important source of exogenous AGEs. Fish and fish products are considered to be important

sources of AGEs due to their high protein and fat content and the use of different cooking

methods and temperature-time combinations. For this reason, the present study investigated the

effects of internal and external factors on AGE formation in fish and fish products.