Discovery and Identification of Tastants and Taste-Modulating <i>N</i>-Acyl Amino Acid Derivatives in Traditional Korean Fermented Dish Kimchi Using a Sensomics Approach
Peter Christa, Andreas Dunkel, Alin Krauss, Timo D. Stark, Corinna Dawid, Thomas Hofmann
Abstract
Sensory-guided fractionation by means of ultrafiltration and gel permeation chromatography followed by high-performance liquid chromatography, synthesis, liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) quantitation, and taste re-engineering experiments revealed taste-active and taste-enhancing compounds contributing to the umami, mouthful and complex taste profile of the fermented Korean dish, kimchi. Besides basic taste-active compounds, in particular, various N-acylated amino acids deriving from succinic acid and lactic acid imparted taste-modulating properties in food matrices. Taste threshold concentrations were determined to evaluate intrinsic and modulating effects. Quantitation of N-acylated amino acids in kimchi following synthesis revealed the presence of numerous derivatives showing taste–active properties. Sensory evaluation including recombination and partial addition experiments highlighted that both the N-lactoyl- and the N-succinoyl amino acid derivatives contribute to increasing the fullness, volume, and complexity of food matrices, whereas the latter directly contributes to the overall taste of kimchi in natural concentrations.