Effects of lupin and chickpea flour on the formation of acrylamide in biscuits

Background and aims: Acrylamide (AA) is a toxic compound probably carcinogenic to humans, formed mainly by the interaction of asparagine (asn) with reducing sugars as part of the Maillard reaction. Several studies have investigated the effect of different flours on AA formation in bakery products; being this ingredient the main source of asn, identified as a limiting precursor of this toxic compound. The asn content was not always proportional to the AA levels in the biscuits, indicating that other flour properties also have an impact on its formation. It was suggested that chickpea proteins may reduce AA because they can bind to carbonyls and thus reduce their availability for the reaction with reducing sugars. On the other hand, high fibre content of legume can promote the AA formation by reducing the aw of the product and thus increasing the Maillard reaction rate. In order to clarify if the differences in AA content are only based on the asn or also related to other matrix properties, the aim of this research was to investigate the effects of wheat and legume flours in biscuits on AA formation by standardizing the initial asn content.