Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of mono- and disaccharides in D-fructose, D-glucose and sucrose caramels by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Di-D-fructose dianhydrides as tracers of caramel authenticity.

The monosaccharide (D-fructose, D-glucose, anhydrosugars), disaccharide (glucobioses) and pseudodisaccharide (di-D-fructose dianhydrides) content of D-fructose, D-glucose and sucrose caramels has been determined by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (GLC-MS) of their trimethylsilyl (TMS) or TMS-oxime derivatives. The chromatographic profiles revealed significant differences in the disaccharide/pseudodisaccharide distribution depending on the caramel source: a D-fructose caramel contains prominent proportions of di-D-fructose dianhydrides, a D-glucose caramel mainly D-glucobioses, and a sucrose caramel similar proportions of both disaccharide/pseudodisaccharide series. It is noteworthy that di-D-fructose dianhydrides are found in all three types of caramels and might then be used as specific tracers of the authenticity of caramel, i.e., a product resulting from the controlled heat treatment of food-grade carbohydrates for use as food additives.