Abstract: After steaming processing, Polygonatum sibiricum Red. underwent "toxicity reduction and efficacy enhancement", with the Maillard reaction as its core chemical driving force. Focusing on the three core substrate classes of the Maillard reaction—sugars (carbonyl donors), amino acids, and nucleosides (amino donors)—their chemical basis and their respective roles in the reaction were systematically elaborated on; the dynamic evolution patterns and the interconnected complete chemical chains throughout the entire steaming process were further summarized, and the consequent changes in sensory properties (e.g., color, flavor, and irritation elimination) brought about by the participation of these substrates were explained. Based on the patterns of compositional changes, ideas for process optimization were proposed, including determination of steaming parameters, quantification of processing endpoints, species-differentiated processing, balancing "efficacy enhancement" and "toxicity reduction," and multi-index combined verification. The inherent contradiction of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural（5-HMF） serving as both a reaction progress indicator and a potential toxicant was analyzed. The existing research gaps were reviewed, including insufficient mechanistic exploration, poor comparability of experimental data, the absence of safety limits for 5-HMF, and weak correlation between multi-omics and pharmacological efficacy. Finally, research prospects were presented from four aspects: Reaction mechanisms between nucleosides and amino acids, safety limits of 5-HMF, multi-omics integration, and a process-composition-efficacy correlation model.

Key words: Polygonatum sibiricum Red., steaming, processing technology, Maillard reaction, nucleosides, amino acids, sugars, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural