Formation of melatonin and its isomer during bread dough fermentation and effect of baking.

Melatonin is produced mainly by the pineal gland in vertebrates. Also, melatonin and its isomer are found in foods. Investigating the formation of melatonin and its isomer is of importance during bread dough fermentation and its degradation during baking since bread is widely consumed in high amounts. Formation of melatonin was not significant during dough fermentation. The melatonin isomer content of nonfermented dough was found to be 4.02 ng/g and increased up to 16.71 ng/g during fermentation. Lower amounts of isomer in crumb and crust than dough showed that the thermal process caused a remarkable degree of degradation in melatonin isomer. At the end of the 180 min fermentation Trp decreased by 58%. The results revealed for the first time the formation of a melatonin isomer in bread dough during yeast fermentation.