Reductones

Reductones are chemicals that contain an enediol group, with ascorbic acid as the best-known example. They arise as intermediates of the Maillard reaction and possess antioxidative activity, meaning they can slow the oxidation of other food components. In foods this chemistry helps retard rancidity in fats and unwanted colour changes during processing and storage. Understanding reductones matters for shelf-life prediction, for designing natural antioxidant strategies, and for controlling the flavour stability of heat-processed products, since the same reactive structures that protect foods can also participate in further browning reactions.