Effect of umami substances on the flavour profile and temporal characteristics of model foods

Eliza Kostyra, Nina Baryłko-Pikielna
 nina_pikielna@sggw.pl

Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW, Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Science, Nowoursynowska 159C, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland

In the majority of publications on umami substances as flavour-enhancing additives the attention is focused on hedonic effect of such supplementation, usually by comparing the palatability of umami-supplemented products with their unsupplemented counterparts. Much less data is available about what cognitive (qualitative and quantitative) changes in perception of flavour attributes are evoked by monosodium glutamate (MSG) and disodium inosinate and guanylate mixture (I+G) when added to food matrix in rising concentration.

The aim of this study was to address above question. Four model soups prepared in controlled laboratory conditions with fixed NaCl level (0.6%) were used as an experimental material. Each of them was equally supplemented by various combination of MSG (0-0.5%) and I+G (0-0.015%), according to 4 x 4 factorial design. From 16 samples of each soup 6-7 samples were chosen, which differed in added MSG and I+G resulted in different hedonic characteristics2. The samples were analysed by profiling method (QDA). Temporal changes in intensity of selected attributes (most sensitive to umami additives) were measured using Time-Intensity procedure.

The results have shown that most dramatical changes in flavour profile (as compared with unsupplemented references) appeared in soup matrices to which as little as 0.1% MSG or 0.1% MSG and 0.01% I+G was added; further increase of umami supplementation caused much less flavour profile modification. Intensity of such common “positive” attributes, as “bouillon-like”, “salty” and “body” rose with rising MSG and I+G amount – although the rate of their intensity increase was non-linear and strongly matrix-dependent. An opposite effect of added umami substances was observed on “negative” flavour attributes, like “burnt” and “bitter/pungent” and “sharp” (in mushroom soup) – their intensity was suppressed by rising dose of MSG and I+G.

Time-Intensity measurements confirmed above opposite effects of umami substances on the intensity of flavour attributes depending on their “positive” and “negative” character. T-I results confirmed that above effect concerned not only intensity of the attributes, but also time of their perception.

These unexpected and intriguing results of the study, that umami substances may affect oppositely sensory attributes depending on their affective character certainly deserves attention and some further research.

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