Contents and Correlations of N(ε)-(carboxymethyl)lysine, N(ε)-(carboxyethyl)lysine, Acrylamide and Nutrients in Plant-Based Meat Analogs

High temperatures applied in the production of plant-based meat analogs (PBMA) lead to the occurrence of Maillard reactions, in which harmful compounds N(ε)-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML), N(ε)-(carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL) and acrylamide are formed. However, little research has focused on these compounds in PBMA. In this study, the contents of CML, CEL and acrylamide in 15 commercial-sold PBMA were determined by an ultra-high performance liquid chromatograph coupled with a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS). Nutrients (protein, amino acids, fatty acids and sugars) which are related to the formation of these compounds were also studied. The results showed that CML, CEL and acrylamide contents were in the range of 16.46–47.61 mg/kg, 25.21–86.23 mg/kg and 31.81–186.70 μg/kg, respectively. Proteins account for 24.03–53.18% of PBMA. Except for Met + Cys, which is the limiting amino acid of most PBMA, all other indispensable amino acids met the requirements for adults. Besides, PBMA had more n-6 fatty acids than n-3 fatty acids. A correlation analysis showed that proteins and the profiles of amino acid and fatty acid had little influence on CML but significant influence on CEL and acrylamide. The results of the present study can be used as a reference to produce PBMA with higher amounts of nutrients and lower amounts of CML, CEL and acrylamide.