A comparative analysis of the umami taste of five fresh edible mushrooms by simulating the chemical environment of oral digestion in vitro
Jin Zhao, Tao Wang, Chen Zhang, Xing Han, Junjie Yan, Bingcheng Gan
Abstract
This study aimed to explore the umami taste of five edible mushrooms (Morchella esculenta, Pleurotus eryngii, Oudemansiella radicata, Lentinus edodes, and Grifola frondosa). The substrates digested in a simulated oral chemical environment were analyzed for their umami taste compounds. Results showed that monosodium glutamate (MSG)-like amino acids (15.92 ± 0.42 mg/g) were highest in O. radicata, while P. eryngii had the maximum concentration of total 5′-nucleotide content (42.72 ± 0.95 mg/g) and flavor 5′-nucleotides (11.73 ± 0.10 mg/g). In addition, the equivalent umami concentration ranged from 232.96 ± 8.32 to 901.02 ± 17.39 g MSG/g dry weight, which revealed that P. eryngii and O. radicata exhibited a high level of umami taste. The reactions to proximate components were tested. P. eryngii exhibited the highest amount (mg/g dry weight) of soluble sugars (524.78 ± 50.05), whereas the lowest contents were recorded in O. radicata (97.64 ± 5.65). Our findings suggest that compared to the other three edible mushrooms, P. eryngii and O. radicata have a comparatively high umami taste value, and their primary umami constituents are, respectively, flavor 5′-nucleotides and umami amino acids.