Comparison of nonvolatile taste components in 18 strong fragrance spices

Decoding the bitter taste of Idesia polycarpa var. vestita Diels fruit: Bitterness contribution and mechanisms

To comprehensively explore the contribution and mechanisms of identified low-threshold bitter substances in Idesia polycarpa var. vestita Diels (I. vestita) fruit, we performed quantification and elucidated their interactions with main bitter taste receptors through molecular docking. The established method for quantifying bitter compounds in I. vestita fruit was validated, yielding satisfactory parameters for linearity, stability, and accuracy. Idescarpin (17.71-101.05 mg/g) and idesin (7.88-77.14 mg/g) were the predominant bitter compounds in terms of content. Taste activity values (TAVs) exceeded 10 for the bitter substances, affirming their pivotal role as major contributors to overall bitterness of I. vestita fruit. Notably, idescarpin with the highest TAV, played a crucial role in generating the bitterness of I. vestita fruit. Hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions were the main driving forces. This study holds potential implications for industrial development of I. vestita fruit by providing novel insights into the mechanism underlying its bitterness formation.

Flavor formation of tilapia byproduct hydrolysates in Maillard reaction

The Maillard reaction (MR) of tilapia byproduct protein hydrolysates was investigated for the use of byproduct protein as a food ingredient and to mask its fishy odor and bitter flavor. The flavor differences in tilapia byproduct hydrolysates before and after the MR were analyzed to explore the key flavor precursor peptides and amino acids involved in MR. The results suggested that eight key volatile substances, including 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2-pentylfuran, hexanal, octanal, nonanal, (E)-2-decenal, decanal, and 1-octen-3-ol contributed most to the MR products group (ROAV > 1). Ten volatile compounds, including 1-octen-3-ol, hexanal, 2-pentylfuran, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, methyl decanoate, and 2-octylfuran, were the flavor markers that distinguished the different samples (VIP > 1). The four most consumed peptides were VAPEEHPTL, GPIGPRGPAG, KSADDIKKAF, and VWEGQNIVK. Umami peptides and bitter free amino acids (FAAs) were the key flavor precursor peptide and FAAs, respectively. Overall, the hydrolysates of tilapia byproducts with flavor improved by MR are a promising strategy for the production of flavorings.

Extraction of Functional Compounds from Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.) by Deep Eutectic Solvents at Different Properties

In this study, it was aimed to examine the capacity of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) with different contents to extract bioactive compounds from tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.) plant. For this reason, the total phenolic-flavonoid content, total proanthocyanidin content and antioxidant/antimicrobial activities of the prepared DES extracts were investigated, as well as the individual phenolic and individual amino acid profiles. According to the results, DES10 had the highest efficiency in terms of its capacity to extract individual phenolics (approximately 59 mg/100 g) and individual amino acids (approximately 2500 mg/kg), and also gave a higher yield compared to ethanol (approximately 44 mg/100 g for individual phenolics and about 19810 mg/kg for individual amino acids) and methanol (approximately 58 mg/100 g for individual phenolics and approximately 21430 mg/kg for individual amino acids). However, the total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity values of DES extracts were determined between 59.09-77.50 mg GAE/100 g, 28.68-45.55 mg GAE/100 g and 42.96-146.86 mg TE/100 g, respectively. Therefore, it can be recommended to use these green solvents, which are known as environmentally friendly, as an alternative to organic solvents in the process of preparing extracts of this important medicinal plant in different areas.

Recent Progress in the Study of Taste Characteristics and the Nutrition and Health Properties of Organic Acids in Foods

Organic acids could improve the food flavor, maintain the nutritional value, and extend the shelf life of food. This review summarizes the detection methods and concentrations of organic acids in different foods, as well as their taste characteristics and nutritional properties. The composition of organic acids varies in different food. Fruits and vegetables often contain citric acid, creatine is a unique organic acid found in meat, fermented foods have a high content of acetic acid, and seasonings have a wide range of organic acids. Determination of the organic acid contents among different food matrices allows us to monitor the sensory properties, origin identification, and quality control of foods, and further provides a basis for food formulation design. The taste characteristics and the acid taste perception mechanisms of organic acids have made some progress, and binary taste interaction is the key method to decode multiple taste perception. Real food and solution models elucidated that the organic acid has an asymmetric interaction effect on the other four basic taste attributes. In addition, in terms of nutrition and health, organic acids can provide energy and metabolism regulation to protect the human immune and myocardial systems. Moreover, it also exhibited bacterial inhibition by disrupting the internal balance of bacteria and inhibiting enzyme activity. It is of great significance to clarify the synergistic dose-effect relationship between organic acids and other taste sensations and further promote the application of organic acids in food salt reduction.

Spreadable plant-based cheese analogue with dry-fractioned pea protein and inulin-olive oil emulsion-filled gel

BACKGROUND

Consumer demand for plant-based cheese analogues (PCA) is growing because of the easy and versatile ways in which they can be used. However, the products available on the market are nutritionally poor. They are low in protein, high in saturated fat and sodium, and often characterized by a long list of ingredients.

RESULTS

A clean label spreadable plant-based cheese analogue was developed using dry-fractionated pea protein and an emulsion-filled gel composed of extra virgin olive oil and inulin, added in different concentrations as fat replacer (10%, 13% and 15% of the formulation). First, nutritional and textural analyses were performed, and the results were compared with two commercial products. The products were high in protein (134 g kg^-1 ) and low in fat (52.2 g kg^-1 ). The formulated PCAs had similar spreadability index to the dairy cheese but lower hardness (15.1 vs. 19.0 N) and a higher elasticity (0.60 vs. 0.35) consequent to their lower fat content (52.2 vs. 250 g kg^-1 ). Then, dry oregano and rosemary (5 g kg^-1 ) were added to the PCA, and sensory evaluation and analysis of volatile compounds were conducted. The addition of spices masked the legume flavor and significantly enriched the final product with aromatic compounds.

CONCLUSION

The use of dry-fractioned pea protein and of the emulsion-filled gel allowed us to develop a clean label and nutritionally valuable spreadable plant-based cheese analogue. Overall, the ingredients and product concepts developed could be used to upgrade the formulation of plant-based cheese on a larger scale. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Characterization of Taste Compounds and Sensory Evaluation of Soup Cooked with Sheep Tail Fat and Prickly Ash

Sheep tail fat and prickly ash play an important role in improving the umami taste of mutton soup. In this work, the effects of prickly ash on key taste compounds in stewed sheep tail fat soup were investigated. Results showed that the taste intensity of sheep tail fat soup cooked with 0.2% prickly ash increased significantly. The concentration of organic acids and free amino acids in sheep tail fat soup significantly increased with the addition of prickly ash. The concentration of succinic acid (2.637 to 4.580 mg/g) and Thr (2.558 to 12.466 mg/g) increased the most among organic acids and amino acids, respectively. Spearman’s correlation analysis elucidated that seven taste compounds were positively correlated (correlation coefficient > 0.7) with the overall taste intensity of the soup sample including Thr, Asp, oxalic acid, lactic acid, citric acid, succinic acid, and ascorbic acid. Additional experiments and quantitative descriptive analysis further confirmed that Asp, lactic acid and citric acid were the key taste compounds to improve saltiness and umami taste in sheep tail fat soup with prickly ash.

Unraveling the metabolic network of organic acids in solid-state fermentation of Chinese cereal vinegar

Shanxi aged vinegar (SAV) is fermented by multispecies microorganism with solid-state fermentation (SSF) technology, which contains a variety of organic acids. However, the metabolic network of them in SSF is still unclear. In this study, metagenomics technology was used to reveal the microbial community and functional genes in SAV fermentation. The metabolic network of key organic acids with taste active value higher than 1 was reconstructed for the first time, including acetate, lactate, malate, citrate, succinate, and tartrate. The results show pyruvate is the core compound in the metabolic network of organic acids. Metabolic pathway of acetate plays a pivotal role in this network, and acetate has regulatory function on metabolism of other organic acids. Acetobacter and Lactobacillus are the predominant genera for organic acid metabolism in SSF of SAV. This is also the first report on metabolic network of organic acids in cereal vinegar, adding new knowledge on the flavor substance metabolism during multispecies fermentation of traditional fermented food.

Effect of Ginger on Chemical Composition, Physical and Sensory Characteristics of Chicken Soup

In order to investigate the effect of ginger on taste components and sensory characteristics in chicken soup, the content of amino acids, organic acids, 5′-nucleotides, and mineral elements were determined in chicken soup sample. With the ginger added, free amino acids in chicken soup obviously increased and exceeded the total amounts in ginger soup and chicken soup. The content of glutamic acid (122.74 μg/mL) was the highest among 17 free amino acids in ginger chicken soup. Meanwhile, six organic acids detected in chicken soup all obviously increased, among which lactic acid (1523.58 μg/mL) and critic acid (4692.41 μg/mL) exceeded 1000 μg/mL. The content of 5′-nucleotides had no obvious difference between ginger chicken soup and chicken soup. Compared with chicken soup, ginger chicken soup had a smaller particle size (136.43 nm) and color difference (79.69), but a higher viscosity. With ginger added in chicken soup, the content of seven mineral elements was reduced, and the content of total sugar increased. Results from an electronic tongue indicated a difference in taste profiles among the soups. The taste components and sensory quality of chicken soup were obviously affected by adding the ginger.

Taste compounds generation and variation of broth in pork meat braised processing by chemical analysis and an electronic tongue system

The aim was to unveil the generation and variation rule of the main taste components in braised broth for 10 quantitative repeated braising cycles. The major taste compounds of three groups (MS, broth cooked with meat and spices; M, broth cooked with meat; and S, broth cooked with spices) were systematically analyzed by the state-of-art chromatography and electronic sensory technology. As braising cycles progressed, contents of free 5'-nucleotides and amino acids were increased in MS and M, while those nucleotides were not detected in S. A significant discrimination of taste in MS and M was revealed by electronic tongue evaluation during the process. As the formation rates (FR) of taste compounds and the transformation rates (TR) of taste compounds to volatile compounds were mainly accounting for the generation and variation of flavor in broth, a hypothesis was proposed to illustrate the whole variation of taste compounds in the process integrally that the ratio of FR/TR dividing the process into three stages, Degradation, Balance, and Accumulation. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The traditional braising process and formula are empirical and extensive, which impede the increase in meat products output. Nowadays, the industry of braising products is facing a problem of standardization and quality control, and needs to carry out scientific and quantitative process improvement efficiently. Therefore, the developed comprehensive approach demonstrates great potential for braised meat broth flavor monitoring and quality control in an objective and holistic manner. It provides data support and new ideas of technology development for quality control in the process of meat braising.

Characterization of the Key Aroma Compounds in the Fruit of Litsea pungens Hemsl. (LPH) by GC-MS/O, OAV, and Sensory Techniques

The key aroma compounds in the fruit of Litsea pungens Hemsl. (LPH) were concentrated through solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS/O), quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA), odor activity values (OAVs), and addition test. The results showed that LPH contained 31 aroma-active compounds (flavor dilution, FD = 9). Among them, 30 odorants were quantified by the standard curve method. The OAV analysis results showed that 25 odorants had OAVs ≥ 1, which could be considered as the potent odorants. D-Limonene and 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienal had the highest OAVs (OAV = 9803 and 8399), followed by (Z)-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienal (OAV = 1893), β-myrcene (OAV = 1798), (E)-3-phenyl-2-propenoic acid ethyl (OAV = 1603), and β-caryophyllene (OAV = 1129). Addition experiments further confirmed that 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienal, (Z)-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienal, and D-limonene contributed to lemon attribute, β-myrcene contributed to green attribute, citronellal contributed to mint and fresh note, and eucalyptol contributed to eucalyptus-like note were the key odorants.

Characterization of the taste compounds in 20 pungent spices by high-performance liquid chromatography

High-performance liquid chromatography was used to determine the important taste compounds in 20 pungent spices commonly used in food, including seventeen free amino acids, four 5′-nucleotides and twelve organic acids. The equivalent umami concentration (EUC) and taste activity value (TAV) of the analyzed samples were calculated. The results showed that the content of total free amino acids ranged from 0.57 to 46.67 g/kg in 20 pungent spices. The content of total free amino acids in horseradish was the highest. The content of total 5′-nucleotides ranged from 0.80 to 4.30 g/kg, and chive contains the highest 5′-nucleotide content. Inosine 5′-monophosphate was detected in all 20 pungent spices. The content of total organic acids ranged from 9.37 to 339.58 g/kg. The total organic acids content of fieldmint was the highest (339.58 g/kg). Oxalic acid was detected in 18 pungent spices, except white pepper and chilli. The EUC of fieldmint (37.1 g MSG/100 g) was the highest in all 20 pungent spices, followed with peppermint (24.5 g MSG/100 g), and horseradish (18.4 g MSG/100 g). The TAVs of malic acid, lactic acid and 5′-AMP were higher than 1 in more than 10 spices. Lactic acid were higher than 1 in 13 spices, implying these compounds contributed greater to the flavor of pungent spices. The results of this work will provide references for the application value of pungent spices.

Integration of non-target metabolomics and sensory analysis unravels vegetable plant metabolite signatures associated with sensory quality: A case study using dill (Anethum graveolens)

Using dill (Anethum graveolens L.) as a model herb, we reveal novel associations between metabolite profile and sensory quality, by integrating non-target metabolomics with sensory data. Low night temperatures and exposure to UV-enriched light was used to modulate plant metabolism, thereby improving sensory quality. Plant age is a crucial factor associated with accumulation of dill ether and α-phellandrene, volatile compounds associated with dill flavour. However, sensory analysis showed that neither of these compounds has any strong association with dill taste. Rather, amino acids alanine, phenylalanine, glutamic acid, valine, and leucine increased in samples exposed to eustress and were positively associated with dill and sour taste. Increases in amino acids and organic acids changed the taste from lemon/grass to a more bitter/pungent dill-related taste. Our procedure reveals a novel approach to establish links between effects of eustressors on sensory quality and may be applicable to a broad range of crops.

Determination of free amino acids, organic acids, and nucleotides in 29 elegant spices

Spices can be used in cooking to enhance the flavor of food. In order to systematically summarize and discuss the flavor components of 29 elegant spices, the free amino acids, nucleotides, and organic acids in these spices were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography. Cluster analysis was carried out to classify the 29 elegant spices based on similar data. The results showed considerable variations in the total free amino acids (1.12‒31.59 g/kg), organic acids (9.63‒71.90 g/kg), and nucleotides (0.03‒2.72 g/kg) in the elegant spices. Nine of the amino acids, especially glutamic acid and arginine, were found to have a taste active value (TAV) greater than 1. The TAVs of the 5'-nucleotides, succinic acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, and ascorbic acid were all >1. The equivalent umami concentration (EUC) of sweet marjoram was 83.69 g MSG/100 g. The 29 elegant spices were divided into two categories according to cluster analysis of the EUC. Oregano fell into one category, and the remaining 28 spices fell into the other category.