Fate of acrylamide during coffee roasting and in vitro digestion assessed with carbon 14- and carbon 13-labeled materials

Acrylamide (AA) formation during coffee roasting happens rapidly, reaching a peak value within the first minutes of roasting followed by a fast decrease to reach an asymptote at approximately 200 µg/kg. Today, the mechanisms by which AA is reduced during roasting remain unclear. In this research, the fate of AA during roasting followed by drip brewed-like extraction was studied using 14C-radiolabeled (14C-AA) and 13C-labeled (13C3-AA) materials. Results showed that 28% of the spiked 14C-AA was lost during the roasting process, presumably by degradation to volatile compounds and 25% was non-extractable; therefore, appeared bound to the matrix. About 50% of initial AA went into the water extract, either unchanged or transformed by conjugation/binding. The release of bound acrylamide was further evidenced by increasing levels of 13C3-AA over prolonged roasting times. In addition, the absence of 14C activity in the hexane extracts suggested acrylamide not to bind to any lipophilic material.