Melanoidin Polymers as Possible Oxygen Sinks in the Pre-Biotic Oceans

Abstract

A prerequisite for abiotic organic synthesis is an anoxic environment. Several mechanisms for oxygen removal were proposed among which reactions with ferrous iron are considered to be the most important. We are proposing here a supporting system for an “in situ” sink for oxygen. Carbohydrates and amino acids, presumably present in the “prebiotic soup” might interact through a Maillard reaction in order to form humic acid like compounds-melanoidins. Laboratory experiments show that the melanoidin synthesis is characterized by a rapid incorporation of the dissolved molecular oxygen into the final condensation product. This reaction may have been important during the main stage of abiotic synthesis of organic matter, but its importance probably declined when the non-biological production of organic matter diminished.