5-Hydroxymethyl-2-Furfural (HMF) – Heat-Induced Formation, Occurrence in Food and Biotransformation - a Review

Abstract

The chemical structure of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF), its physicochemical properties and reactions that lead to the synthesis of HMF were discussed. Special attention was paid to HMF formation in food during processing. The potential applications of this compound in industry were described as well. Moreover, this review outlines the most important sources of HMF in human diet and estimates the potential daily intake of HMF by consumers. The known and suggested metabolic pathways, as well as the impact of HMF and its metabolites on human health are also discussed.

The effects of production methods and storage on the chemical constituents of apple pekmez

“…Beside its useful index for high thermal load in food stuffs, HMF is accepted as a food contaminant with potential harmful properties. Some studies show that HMF plays an active role as an initiator or promoter of colon cancer in rats (Rufían-Henares and de la Cueva 2008; Kowalski et al 2013). The HMF is considered to be harmful to human health.…”

“…The HMF is considered to be harmful to human health. Precautions can be taken to reduce the amount of HMF in food (Kowalski et al 2013). HMF formation in foods generally occur during processing (low pH and high temperature), unit operations and also depend on the chemical composition of the processed raw material.…”

Review: Sustainable production of hydroxymethylfurfural and levulinic acid: Challenges and opportunities

“…The HMF molecule has various functionalities arising from the presence of hydroxyl and aldehyde groups as well as a furan ring [14]. HMF is a yellow solid with a melting point between 28 and 34 C, a boiling point between 114 and 116 C and a density of 1.206 g/ cc [13,31,33,34]. It is soluble in a range of solvents, such as water, methanol, ethanol, benzene, acetone, chloroform, ethyl acetate and formaldehyde [31,34].…”

Antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of some commercial honeys available on the Polish market

“…Among the tested samples, only thyme and lime honeys fulfilled these regulatory requirements; in all other cases, the content of HMF exceeded the value stipulated in the guidelines. The largest amount of this compound (about 100 mg/kg) was found in eucalyptus honey ( (Sancho et al 1992;Karabournioti & Zervalaki 2001;Kowalski 2013;Kowalski et al 2013). We therefore suspect that the high levels of this compound in honeys was the result of their storage and packaging and linked to import and packaging into individual containers.…”