Are your vegetables healthy?

In fried or baked goods, the reaction between asparagine and reducing sugars (e.g., fructose or glucose) may produce acrylamide, which is considered toxic and potentially carcinogenic. Acrylamide is formed from the Maillard reaction between sugars and amino acids, it is what creates the brown compounds that give many cooked foods their pleasing flavour. In the body, acrylamide is converted into another compound, glycidamide, which can bind to DNA and cause mutations. High levels of acrylamide can be found in starchy foods, such as potatoes and bread, when cooked at temperatures over 120°C. This potentially dangerous acrylamide formation can be minimised by ensuring that the level of reducing sugars are within safe limits.

Monitoring Acrylamide Formation in Potatoes

Using the enzymatic reaction with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and diaphorase, the total free sugar in potatoes can be determined easily in minutes with the simple Reflectoquant® Total Sugar Test and the RQflex® 20 reflectometer.

Reagents:

Reflectoquant® Total Sugar Test

Reflectometer RQflex® 20

Sample preparation:

Homogenise the potato in a blender (e.g. ULTRA TURRAX®). Weigh approx. 10 - 20 g of the mashed sample into a 50 mL volumetric flask. Add approx. 40 mL distilled water and stir for approx. 10 minutes. Filter through a folded filter.

Analysis:

Place 10 mL distilled water plus 5 drops of reagent TS-1, and 1 mL filtrated sample in the test vessel and swirl. Press the reflectometer START key and simultaneously dip the test strip into the measurement sample (23 + 3°C) for ca. 2 seconds, ensuring that both reaction zones are immersed. Allow excess liquid to run off via the long edge of the strip on to an absorbent paper towel. Insert the strip immediately into the strip adapter.

After 600 seconds, the strip is measured in the reflectometer. The value [mg/L] will be stored automatically.

Calculation:

Total sugar content [g/kg] = Measured value [mg/L] x 50 ml / Sample weight [g] x 100

Applications

With over 100 application notes for reflectometry, from agriculture, to foodstuffs and disinfection control, the RQflex® 20 can streamline your production processes and analyses.

Precise in-process results - directly on-site

Reflectometry, or remission photometry is a rapid, sensitive method for quantitating a wide variety of organic and inorganic parameters in water, food, beverages, and environmental samples. Using Reflectoquant® test strips, in combination with the RQflex® 20 reflectometer, readings can be taken in the laboratory, on the production line, or in the field.

Portable Analysis

A light and compact system that acts like a mobile laboratory to perform critical analyses and obtain quantitative results directly on-site. Get results in minutes for easy monitoring of your materials at any stage of your process.

Barcoded test strips with batch specific calibration

For every test condition, each batch of test strips is calibrated and equipped with a barcode for accurate and reproducible results. Obtain consistent results quickly with an average accuracy within ± 10%.

Instrument-supported Analytical Quality Assurance (AQA)

For analytical quality assurance (AQA), our comprehensive RQcheck and total system monitoring process ensures accurate and precise measurement results. Calibration is straightforward, so your measurements will always be reliable.

Intuitive menu navigation—available in seven languages

Simple and easy to use menu system to access all your methods, results and quality assurance options, along with the ability to tailor your settings to your needs.

Countdown timer for streamlined analysis

For maximum reproducibility, a countdown-timer with an advanced warning alert before the end of the test strip preparation time can be tailored to fit in with your workflow.

Broad range of test kits and application notes

From ammonium through to nitrate and urea, we have a comprehensive range of test kits for fast instrumental analysis, e.g., for testing sugar content in chocolate, nitrate content in vegetables, or the freshness of honey.