Suppression of Umami Aftertaste by Polysaccharides in Soy Sauce

Abstract

Umami is one of 5 basic tastes that make foods savory and palatable. The umami aftertaste is a long-lasting taste sensation that is important for Japanese broth (dashi) utilized for various Japanese foods. Soy sauce is usually added when making dashi-based dishes; however, different soy sauces produce distinct effects on the umami aftertaste. In this study, we attempted to identify the substances that cause the suppression of the umami aftertaste in soy sauce by combining sensory analysis, size fractionation, chemical analysis, and enzymatic treatment. The suppressive substance was revealed to be polysaccharides with molecular weights between 44900 and 49700. The results of acid hydrolysis and enzymatic treatment suggested that the polysaccharides were cellulose. These results indicate that a type of water-soluble cellulose derived from soybean, wheat, or microorganisms has a suppressive effect on the umami aftertaste of soy sauce. Future studies should focus on developing a strategy that regulates the amount of these polysaccharides generated during soy sauce production, to maintain or enhance the umami aftertaste.

Descriptive terminology for the sensory evaluation of soy sauce

“…The resulting liquid is sterilized by heating (Yokotsuka, ). Over 300 compounds have been reported to be produced in soy sauce during this process (Imamura & Matsushima, ; Kaneko, Kumazawa, & Nishimura, ; Steinhaus & Schieberle, ; Yokotsuka & Sasaki, ). In addition, each soy sauce maker employs a different manufacturing process, leading to greater variability, which reflects the fact that only 19 attributes were common among all soy sauce samples of this study.…”

Isolation and identification of a humanTRPV1 activating compound from soy sauce

“…[12][13][14] Thus, various components in soy sauce can intricately affect each other to generate the rich soy sauce flavor. [15][16][17] Furthermore, soy sauce uses three types of microorganisms during the manufacturing process. Therefore, it is conceivable that more various metabolic products are contained in soy sauce than in other fermented foods.…”

An Interesting Tour of New Research Results on Umami and Umami Compounds

“…This indicates that some components in the soy sauce decrease the umami aftertaste. In a study [101] the authors looked for the components and the key factors that have an effect on umami aftertaste with methods like sensory analysis, size fractionation, enzymatic treatment and chemical analysis. As a result, the components that decrease the umami aftertaste were isolated and a strategy was found for producing soy sauces that better enhance the umami taste.…”