Controllable antioxidative xylan–chitosan Maillard reaction products used for lipid food storage

► The xylan–chitosan MRPs tended to protect the peroxidation of lecithin liposome induced by AAPH. ► Fresh pork treated by the early xylan–chitosan MRPs retarded lipid oxidation and microbial spoilage during refrigerated storage. ► The antioxidant behavior of MRPs depended not only on the antioxidant substances, but also on the interaction of the food systems. Controllable antioxidative xylan–chitosan Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were prepared by co-heating xylan and chitosan at different time periods and used for lipid food storage in lecithin model system and refrigerated pork meat. The results of antioxidant protective effect on lecithin liposome peroxidation induced by 2,2′-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride revealed that the MRPs heated for 120min and 180min showed much higher inhibitory activity than chitosan or MRP heated for 60min. In the experiment of fresh pork protection, the MRPs heated for 60 and 120min retarded the growth of spoilage organisms more effectively. Lipid oxidation potential of the meat, determined by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, also showed that the samples treated by the MRPs heated for 60 and 120min had higher acceptance than others. These results demonstrate that the MRPs of xylan and chitosan are promising controllable antioxidative preservatives for lipid food formulations, and the antioxidant behavior depends not only on the antioxidant substances, but also on the interaction of the food systems.