Staff Profile:Professor Don Mottram

Name:

Emeritus Professor Don Mottram

Job Title:

Emeritus Professor

Responsibilities:

Professor Emeritis  of Food Chemistry.
Retired as Head of Flavour Chemistry Research Group in October 2010 but continues to work with the group on a range of projects

Areas of Interest:

Areas of Interest:

Flavour research at Reading has a long established reputation and the group has strong links with other research groups in many countries. The group has particular expertise in the flavour chemistry of the Maillard reaction. We played a leading role in the worldwide investigation into the formation of acrylamide (a possible carcinogen) in heated foods. The practical objectives of the research are to gain understanding of the chemical and biochemical reactions which lead to the formation of flavour and other trace chemical compounds in food, and to provide means of controlling these reactions.

Particular areas of interest include:

Chemistry and biochemistry of flavour formation in foods

Role of the Maillard reaction in the thermal generation of aroma

Interactions of flavour compounds with structural food components.

Chemistry of meat flavour

Flavour and taste components in fruits and vegetables

Formation of acrylamide in heated foods.

We have well equipment flavour research laboratories with a range of flavour extraction techniques and state-of-the-art GC-MS and LS-MS-MS equipment as well as excellent sensory analysis facilities.

The Flavour Centre

We work closely with the food industry and though The Flavour Centre will undertake short-term flavour investigations using chemical and sensory methods, as well as longer term research projects.

The LRI and Odour Database

The Flavour Group has produced a database containing information on the chromatographic and sensory properties of aroma compounds compiled from our own analyses and from other published papers. The database is available on the web at http://www.odour.org.uk/

Research groups / Centres:

Publications:

Over 200 publications in Flavour Chemistry and Food Science.

Some recent publications:

Curtis, T. Y.; Powers, S. J.; Balagiannis, D.; Elmore, J. S.; Mottram, D. S.; Parry, M. A. J.; Rakszegi, M.; Bedo, Z.; Shewry, P. R.; Halford, N. G. Free Amino Acids and Sugars in Rye Grain: Implications for Acrylamide Formation. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2010, 58: 1959-1969.

Elmore, J. S.; Dodson, A. T.; Muttucumaru, N.; Halford, N. G.; Parry, M. A. J.; Mottram, D. S. Effects of sulphur nutrition during potato cultivation on the formation of acrylamide and aroma compounds during cooking. Food Chem., 2010, 122: 753-760.

Halford, N. G.; Curtis, T. Y.; Muttucumaru, N.; Postles, J.; Mottram, D. S. Sugars in crop plants. Annals of Applied Biology, 2010,

Balagiannis, D. P.; Parker, J. K.; Pyle, D. L.; Desforges, N.; Wedzicha, B. L.; Mottram, D. S. Kinetic Modeling of the Generation of 2-and 3-Methylbutanal in a Heated Extract of Beef Liver. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2009, 57: 9916-9922.

Curtis, T. Y.; Muttucumaru, N.; Shewry, P. R.; Parry, M. A. J.; Powers, S. J.; Elmore, J. S.; Mottram, D. S.; Hook, S.; Halford, N. G. Effects of Genotype and Environment on Free Amino Acid Levels in Wheat Grain: Implications for Acrylamide Formation during Processing. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2009, 57: 1013-1021.

Koutsidis, G.; Simons, S. P. J.; Thong, Y. H.; Haldoupis, Y.; Mojica-Lazaro, J.; Wedzicha, B. L.; Mottram, D. S. Investigations on the Effect of Amino Acids on Acrylamide, Pyrazines, and Michael Addition Products in Model Systems. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2009, 57: 9011-9015.

Mills, C.; Mottram, D. S.; Wedzicha, B. L. Acrylamide. In Process-Induced Food Toxicants and Health Risks; Stadler, R. H., Lineback, D., Eds.; John Wiley & Sons: New York, 2009; pp 23-50.

Elmore, J. S.; Parker, J. K.; Halford, N. G.; Muttucumaru, N.; Mottram, D. S. Effects of plant sulfur nutrition on acrylamide and aroma compounds in cooked wheat. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2008, 56: 6173-6179.

Koutsidis, G.; Elmore, J. S.; Oruna-Concha, M. J.; Campo, M. M.; Wood, J. D.; Mottram, D. S. Water-soluble precursors of beef flavour. Part II: Effect of post-mortem conditioning. Meat Sci., 2008, 79: 270-277.

Koutsidis, G.; Fuente, A. D. l.; Dimitriou, C.; Kakoulli, A.; Wedzicha, B. L.; Mottram, D. S. Acrylamide and pyrazine formation in model systems containing asparagine. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2008, 56: 6105-6112.

Muttucumaru, N.; Elmore, J. S.; Curtis, T.; Mottram, D. S.; Parry, M. A. J.; Halford, N. G. Reducing acrylamide precursors in raw materials derived from wheat and potato. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2008, 56: 6167-6172.

Elmore, J. S.; Mottram, D. S.; Muttucumaru, N.; Dodson, A. T.; Parry, M. A. J.; Halford, N. G. Changes in free amino acids and sugars in potatoes due to sulfate fertilization, and the effect on acrylamide formation J. Agric. Food Chem., 2007, 55: 5363-5366.

Hashizume, M.; Gordon, M. H.; Mottram, D. S. Light-induced off-flavor development in cloudy apple juice. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2007, 55: 9177-9182.

Low, M. Y.; Parker, J. K.; Mottram, D. S. Mechanisms of alkylpyrazine formation in a potato model system containing added glycine J. Agric. Food Chem., 2007, 55: 4087-4094.

Mottram, D. S. The Maillard reaction: source of flavour in thermally processed foods. In Flavours and Fragrances: Chemistry, Bioprocessing and Sustainability; Berger, R. G., Eds.; Springer-Verlag: Berlin, 2007; pp 269-284.

Oruna-Concha, M.-J.; Methven, L.; Blumenthal, H.; Young, C.; Mottram, D. S. Differences in glutamic acid and 5- ribonucleotide contents between flesh and pulp of tomatoes and the relationship with umami taste. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2007, 55: 5776-5780.

Low, M. Y.; Koutsidis, G.; Parker, J. K.; Elmore, J. S.; Dodson, A. T.; Mottram, D. S. Effect of citric acid and glycine addition on acrylamide and flavor in a potato model system. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2006, 54: 5976-5983.

Muttucumaru, N.; Halford, N. G.; Elmore, J. S.; Dodson, A. T.; Parry, M.; Shewry, P. R.; Mottram, D. S. Formation of high levels of acrylamide during the processing of flour derived from sulfate-deprived wheat. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2006, 54: 8951-8955.

Elmore, J. S.; Koutsidis, G.; Dodson, A. T.; Mottram, D. S.; Wedzicha, B. L. Measurement of acrylamide and its precursors in potato, wheat, and rye model systems. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2005, 53: 1286-1293.

Elmore, J. S.; Cooper, S. L.; Enser, M.; Mottram, D. S.; Sinclair, L. A.; Wilkinson, R. G.; Wood, J. D. Dietary manipulation of fatty acid composition in lamb meat and its effect on the volatile aroma compounds of grilled lamb. Meat Sci., 2005, 69: 233-242.

Mottram, D. S.; Wedzicha, B. L.; Dodson, A. T. Acrylamide is formed in the Maillard reaction. Nature, 2002, 419: 448-449.

Mottram, D. S.; Nobrega, I. C. C. Formation of sulfur aroma compounds in reaction mixtures containing cysteine and three different forms of ribose. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2002, 50: 4080 - 4086.

Research Awards

• 2003 Royal Society of Chemistry medal for Food Chemistry
• Fellowship from Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division of American Chemical Society