The Enhancement and Mechanism of the Perception of Saltiness by Umami Peptide from Ruditapes Philippinarum and Ham

Abstract

In order to explore the synergistic salty enhancement effect and mechanism of umami peptides from Ruditapes philippinarum and ham. Twenty-six umami peptides were mixed with 0.3% NaCl, were verified and compared using electronic tongue, sensory evaluation and simulated chicken soup. Results showed that the KEMQKN, NGKET, RGEPNND, AHSVRFY, LSERYP, NRTF, TYLPVH, EV, AGAGPTP, GPAGPAGPR had salty enhancement effect, which could be increased to 0.4 % -0.6% NaCl salty taste in 0.3 % NaCl. Under neutral conditions the negative ion state of most umami peptides may be the primary reason for umami peptides' ability to bind to TMC4 receptors and enhance salty taste. We constructed TMC4 receptor for molecular docking and the active sites such as Lys568, Trp145, Tyr565, Arg151, and Gln155, in TMC4 may play a key role in molecular docking. Thus, this study could provide basic theory and data support for the implementation of salt reduction strategy.

Keywords: Umami peptides, Salty taste enhancement, Electronic tongue, TMC4, Molecular docking