Synephrine, as a scavenger and promoter, cooperates with hesperidin to reduce acrolein levels

Acrolein (ACR) is a harmful and active aldehyde produced in processed food that endangers foods safety. We undertook this work to explore the ACR-trapping ability of hesperidin (HES) and synephrine (SYN) from the diet. After comparing their ACR-trapping abilities, the reaction pathways of HES and SNY were analyzed using LC-MS/MS, and two adducts (HES-ACR-1 and SNY-2ACR) were synthesized, and their structures were identified by NMR. Then, we not only evaluated the synergistic trapping effects of HES and SNY on ACR in the model through the Chou-Talalay method but verified it in the processing of roasted duck wings and cookies. Furthermore, based on the quantitative analysis of the ACR-adducts of HES and SNY, we demonstrated that SYN, as a promoter, could greatly improve the ACR-capturing ability of HES by forming more adducts (3-fold). Our findings could serve as a guide for using SNY and HES as new scavengers in food processing.