Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs)
Advanced Glycation End-products
Japanese: AGEs（終末糖化産物）
Complex compounds formed in the final stage of the Maillard reaction. Also generated in the body, their connection to aging and various diseases is being researched.
AGEs (Advanced Glycation End-products) are diverse compounds formed in the final stage of the Maillard reaction. In foods, they are part of miso's brown pigments; in the body, they gradually accumulate from protein-sugar reactions.
In the body, AGEs accumulate on long-lived proteins like collagen, reportedly causing tissue stiffening and inflammation. Links to atherosclerosis, diabetic complications, and Alzheimer's disease are being studied—AGEs are attracting attention as a 'chemical factor in aging.'
The extent to which dietary AGEs affect the body remains debated. They form abundantly in high-temperature cooking (frying, grilling), while in fermented foods they form slowly under milder conditions. Food, health, and aging—the Maillard reaction is a molecular system connecting them all.