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Research Project: New Sustainable Processing Technologies to Produce Healthy, Value-Added Foods from Specialty Crops

Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research

Title: Novel umami ingredients: umami peptides and their taste

Author
item YIN, ZHANG - Sichuan University
item VENKITASMY, CHANDRASEKAR - University Of California
item Pan, Zhongli
item WANG, XINHUI - Sichuan University
item LIU, WENLONG - Sichuan University

Submitted to: Journal of Food Science
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/9/2016
Publication Date: 1/6/2017
Citation: Yin, Z., Venkitasmy, C., Pan, Z., Wang, X., Liu, W. 2017. Novel umami ingredients: umami peptides and their taste. Journal of Food Science. 82:16–23. doi:10.1111/1750-3841.13576.

Interpretive Summary: This article reviews the current status of research on umami peptides and their tasting characteristics Umami substances are very important for food seasoning and healthy eating. In addition to monosodium glutamate (MSG) and some nucleotides, recent investigations have found that several peptides also exhibit umami taste. There are 52 reported peptides showing umami taste in recent years, including 24 dipeptides, 16 tripeptides, 5 octopeptides, 2 each of pentapeptides and hexapeptides, and one each of tetrapeptides, heptapeptides and eleven (undeca) peptides. Twenty of these peptides were questioned for existence of umami taste. In this review, we have enlisted thesespeptides showing umami taste based on their category, source, taste and threshold concentrations. The possible evidences of peptides showing umami tastes, the umami taste receptors in human tongue, and the peptides which are in controversy over their umami tastes are also discussed.

Technical Abstract: Umami substances are very important for food seasoning and healthy eating. In addition to monosodium glutamate (MSG) and some nucleotides, recent investigations have found that several peptides also exhibit umami taste. There are 52 reported peptides showing umami taste in recent years, including 24 dipeptides, 16 tripeptides, 5 octopeptides, 2 each of pentapeptides and hexapeptides, and one each of tetrapeptides, heptapeptides and eleven (undeca) peptides. Twenty of these peptides were questioned for existence of umami taste. In this review, we have enlisted theses peptides showing umami taste based on their category,source, taste and threshold concentrations. The possible evidences of peptides showing umami tastes, the umami taste receptors in human tongue, and the peptides which are in controversy over their umami tastes are also discussed.