Sensoproteomic Discovery of Taste-Modulating Peptides and Taste Re-engineering of Soy Sauce

Manon Jünger, Verena Karolin Mittermeier-Kleßinger, Anastasia Farrenkopf, Andreas Dunkel, Timo Stark, Sonja Fröhlich, Veronika Somoza, Corinna Dawid, Thomas Hofmann

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

Soy sauce, one of the most common Asian fermented foods, exhibits a distinctive savory taste profile. In the present study, targeted quantitation of literature-known taste compounds, calculation of dose-over-threshold factors, and taste re-engineering experiments enabled the identification of 34 key tastants. Following the sensoproteomics approach, 14 umami-, kokumi-, and salt-enhancing peptides were identified for the first time, with intrinsic taste threshold concentrations in the range of 166-939 μmol/L and taste-modulating threshold concentrations ranging from 42 to 420 μmol/L. The lowest taste-modulating threshold concentrations were found for the leucyl peptide LDYY with an umami- and salt-enhancing threshold of 42 μmol/L. Addition of the 14 newly identified peptides to the taste recombinate (aRecDipeptides) increased the overall taste intensity and mouthfulness of the recombinate, and comparison with the authentic soy sauce confirmed the identification of all key tastants. Finally, these data as well as the quantitative profiling of several (non)-fermented foods highlight the importance of fermentation with respect to taste formation. On the basis of this knowledge, microorganisms with specific digestion patterns may be used to tailor the taste profile and especially the salt taste sensation of soy sauces.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6503-6518
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of agricultural and food chemistry
Volume70
Issue number21
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2022

Keywords

  • LC-DMS-MS/MS
  • key taste compounds
  • kokumi
  • prolylpeptides
  • salt enhancement
  • sensoproteomics
  • soy sauce

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