RESUMO
In the present study we aimed at studying, determined and estimated the daily intake the contents of melanoidins and of their phenolic-bound compounds, and the antioxidant capacity of thermally processed foods regularly consumed in the Brazilian diet. Among twenty-three heat-processed Brazilian food samples, melanoidins contents ranged from 1.6 (dulce de leche) to 21.4 g/100 g (soluble coffee). Considering melanosaccharides, roasted maté showed the highest content of bound phenolics (6415.1 µg/100 mg), whereas whole grain breakfast cereals (229.3 µg/100 mg) stood out among melanoproteins. The antioxidant capacity of melanoidins was strongly correlated with their bound phenolic compounds (r > 0.8522, p < 0.0001). We estimated that up to 10.7 g of melanoidins are daily consumed by the Brazilian population, with beer the major contributor (44%), followed by cereal products (36%) and coffee (17%). Brazilians ingest up to 26.0 mg of bound phenolics a day, mainly from coffee (75%) and beer (13%) melanoidins. Therefore, the estimated intake of phenolic compounds by Brazilians is underestimated by up to 7%. Moreover, melanoidins contribute to up to 21% of the Brazilian dietary antioxidant capacity.