Preliminary Study On The Umami Characteristics Of Disodium Succinate

Umami has been recognized as the fifth basic taste.The umami compounds can bind G-protein coupled receptors in the taste receptor to generate umami taste perception.Umami substances can be classed into amino acids,nucleotides,organic acids,organic alkalis and peptides.Among these umami substances,disodium succinate(Disodium Succinate,WSA)can contribute to umami taste,which is the only organic acid that can be applied as food additive based on Chinese Food Additive Standard.WSA is the important umami substance in scallop,in addition,it has been regarded as an ideal umami contributor in seafoods and seafood related products.Limited studies reported that the umami taste caused by WSA can be perceived in the middle of the tongue,and the presence of WSA can reduce the sharpness of the umami taste caused by some other umami substances,and can make the umami taste long-lasting.Although WSA has been applied into some meat products,seafood products and sauces,there is lack of scientific understanding on the umami characteristics of WSA and its interaction with other umami substances.Due to this lack of understanding on WSA,WSA has not been widely used in food industries or companies.Therefore,the aims of this study were to:(1)Explore the psycho-physical response of WSA and the umami taste of WSA under different conditions(including different p H,temperature and sodium concentration)(2)Investigate the binary taste-taste interaction between WSA and sodium nucleotide(I+G)and between WSA and yeast extract(YE)(3)Elucidate the influence of WSA addition on umami perception from Maillard Reaction products(MRPs)generated by the hydrolytes of puffer fish by-products.This study helped to obtain a comprehensive understanding on WSA and also throwed light on the application of WSA into foods.Via using 2-alternative forced choice(2AFC)in 24 trained sensory panellists,results showed that the umami perception of WSA fitted the psycho-physical curve,that the increase of WSA concentration could result in stronger umami taste perception.In addition,the concentration at 0.35g/100 m L of WSA resulted in the moderate umami perception.Moreover,the condition of 25°C,0.1%(w/v)of Na~+and p H 7.5 could maximize the umami taste.Regarding the binary taste-taste interaction between WSA and other umami substances,2AFC method was applied to examine the umami taste perception and the results indicated that 0.35%WSA mixed with 0.4%I+G can contribute to the strongest umami taste perception,whereas 0.35%WSA mixed with 0.5%YE can exhibit the strongest umami taste perception.Moreover,Time Intensity(TI)method was applied in the study,in order to examine the umami characteristics of WSA and umami substance mixtures.The TI results showed that,the umami taste perception(before spitting the mixture solution out)caused by I+G could be significantly enhanced by adding WSA,vice versa.After spitting the solution out,WSA addition cannot enhance umami aftertaste from I+G.Regarding the mixture of WSA and YE,the addition of WSA could enhance the umami taste from YE,but there was no influence on umami aftertaste.In order to examine the influence of WSA addition on umami perception from Maillard Reaction products(MRPs)generated by the by-product's hydrolytes of Takifugu obscurus,umami intensity rating was used.The results showed that the addition of WSA,I+G and YE could significantly enhance the umami taste perception of MPRs,and the mixture of WSA,and I+G could enhance the umami taste most(p<0.0001,p<0.0001).In addition,by examining the rheological properties of MPRs and umami substances,the results indicated that there was no difference in viscosity of different mixture solutions,which implied that the difference in umami taste perception was not caused by the rheological properties of the mixture solutions.This study revealed the umami characteristics of WSA and the influence of binary taste-taste interaction between WSA and other umami substances on umami taste perception.In addition,such taste-taste interaction can be used as a vital approach to enhance and maximize the umami taste perception in foods,which provided the direction on the development of new umami enhancing ingredients and the reformulation of savoury foods for food industries and companies.