Optimization of α-Hydroxyketone and Pyrazine Syntheses Employing Preliminary Reactions of Glucose and Buffer Solutions

Glucose and selected phosphate buffers have been reacted employing systematic variations in reaction temperature and time (150–160 °C for 60–90 min) to optimize the yield of acetol. This mixture was reacted further with NH₄OH, systematically varying reaction conditions and reagent ratios to optimize pyrazine yield. The highest yield of pyrazine was obtained when 1 g of glucose was reacted with 25 mL of buffer at 150–160 °C for 60 min, which in turn was reacted with 1 mL of concentrated aqueous NH₄OH at 120–130 °C for 17–18 h. Higher temperatures and higher concentrations of glucose caused a decrease in the yield of pyrazines. The addition of hydrolyzed tobacco-derived F1 protein as a secondary source of nitrogen increased the yield of pyrazines by 2–10% depending on F1 protein concentration. Furthermore, the addition of any α-hydroxyketone, similar in structure to acetol, as a pure reagent to the reaction mixture not only increased the yields of pyrazine by ranging from 25–100 % depending on the reagent concentration, but also significantly altered the qualitative and quantitative distribution of the pyrazines. With all of the reaction parameters examined (reaction time, temperature, reagent ratios, etc.) the most significant impacts on both pyrazine yield and distribution were noted when: 1) glucose was pre-reacted with buffer, 2) hydrolyzed F1 protein was added as a second nitrogen source, and 3) when pure α-hydroxyketones were employed as co-reagents. Use of these reaction parameters was found to dramatically shift the pyrazine distribution toward higher molecular weight resulting in a pyrazine array having more desirable physical and sensory attributes.