Saltiness Enhancement through the Synergism of Pyroglutamyl Peptides and Organic Acids

Excess sodium intake poses health risks, prompting the exploration of taste modulators to reduce the salt content in low-sodium foods yet maintain salty perception. Previous research found a subthreshold synergistic effect among pyroglutamyl dipeptides on saltiness enhancement. This study investigated the subthreshold synergistic effect of pyroglutamyl peptides and organic acids on saltiness perception. Pyroglutamyl dipeptides (pgluE, pgluV), pyroglutamyl tripeptides (pgluVL and pgluVC), and organic acids (malic acid and succinic acid) were explored in a model system and subsequently in commercial brown onion sauce. The detection thresholds of peptides (pgluE, pgluV, pgluVL, and pgluVC) were determined to be 646, 77, 273, and 221 μmol/L, respectively, and the subthreshold synergistic effect of the pyroglutamyl tripeptides and organic acids was determined using the isobologram method. One of the eight combinations of pyroglutamyl tripeptides with pyroglutamyl dipeptide (pgluV) showed a subthreshold synergistic effect, whereas four combinations of tripeptides with malic acid and one combination with succinic acid exhibited a subthreshold synergistic effect. In commercial brown onion sauce, 25 and 30% salt reductions were achieved using the combinations of the tripeptides with malic acid and succinic acid, respectively. This research lays the foundation for future investigations into the potential combinations of pyroglutamyl peptides and organic acids for saltiness enhancement in low-sodium foods.

Toward Unified Flavor Quantitation in Cocoa-Based Products

Because food flavor is perceived through a combination of odor and taste, an analytical method that covers both dimensions would be very beneficial for mapping the consistent product quality over the entirety of a manufacturing process. Such a method, so-called "unified flavor quantitation", has been successfully applied to several different food products in recent years. The simultaneous detection of aroma and taste compounds by means of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) enables the analysis and quantification of an enormously large number of compounds in a single run. To evaluate the limits of this method, chocolate, a high-fat, complex matrix, was selected. In 38 distinct commercial chocolate samples, 20 flavor-active acids, aldehydes, and sugars were analyzed after a simple, rapid extraction step followed by derivatization with 3-nitrophenylhydrazine using a single UHPLC-MS/MS method. The results obtained highlight the great potential of the "unified flavor quantitation" approach and demonstrate the possibility of high-throughput quantitation of key aroma- and taste-active molecules in a single assay.

Awakening the natural capability of psicose production in Escherichia coli

Due to the rampant rise in obesity and diabetes, consumers are desperately seeking for ways to reduce their sugar intake, but to date there are no options that are both accessible and without sacrifice of palatability. One of the most promising new ingredients in the food system as a non-nutritive sugar substitute with near perfect palatability is D-psicose. D-psicose is currently produced using an in vitro enzymatic isomerization of D-fructose, resulting in low yield and purity, and therefore requiring substantial downstream processing to obtain a high purity product. This has made adoption of D-psicose into products limited and results in significantly higher per unit costs, reducing accessibility to those most in need. Here, we found that Escherichia coli natively possesses a thermodynamically favorable pathway to produce D-psicose from D-glucose through a series of phosphorylation-epimerization-dephosphorylation steps. To increase carbon flux towards D-psicose production, we introduced a series of genetic modifications to pathway enzymes, central carbon metabolism, and competing metabolic pathways. In an attempt to maximize both cellular viability and D-psicose production, we implemented methods for the dynamic regulation of key genes including clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats inhibition (CRISPRi) and stationary-phase promoters. The engineered strains achieved complete consumption of D-glucose and production of D-psicose, at a titer of 15.3 g L-1, productivity of 2 g L-1 h-1, and yield of 62% under test tube conditions. These results demonstrate the viability of whole-cell catalysis as a sustainable alternative to in vitro enzymatic synthesis for the accessible production of D-psicose.

High-Throughput Flavor Analysis and Mapping of Flavor Alterations Induced by Different Genotypes of Mentha by Means of UHPLC-MS/MS

The demand for mint is increasing from year to year, and it is more important than ever to secure a sustainable and robust supply of such an important plant. The USDA mint core collection provides the basis for many researches worldwide regarding, e.g., sequencing, cytology, and disease resistances. A recently developed toolbox enables here for the first time the analysis of such a complex collection in terms of the aroma compound composition and the mapping of flavor alterations depending on taxonomy, environmental conditions, and growing stages by means of comprehensive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Therefore, in this study, not only the aroma compound composition of 153 genotypes was characterized but it was also demonstrated that the composition varies depending on taxonomy and changes during the growth of the plant. Furthermore, it could be shown that greenhouse conditions have an enormous influence on the concentrations of aroma compounds.

A high throughput toolbox for comprehensive flavor compound mapping in mint

Essential oils of the genus Mentha are extensively used as flavor ingredients in the industry. To overcome the time consuming and laborious traditional flavor analysis, a new quick, high-throughput toolbox based on a bead-beater homogenization followed by a UHPLC-MS/MS analysis has been developed and validated. While terpenes could be directly detected using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), carbonyl compounds and alcohols required derivatization by 3-nitrophenylhydrazine (3-NPH) and glycidyltrimethylammonium chloride (GTMA) to ensure sufficient sensitivity for analysis of a single leaf. Using this approach, in total, 59 flavor-active metabolites representing the characteristic flavor of mint were quantified in leaves as well as in distilled oils using fast and robust UHPLC-MS/MS methods. The application of this toolbox enables a mapping of key pathways of mint flavor biosynthesis and can therefore support extensive breeding studies and the monitoring of chemosensate changes, depending on factors such as growth stages and environmental conditions.

Discovery of a natural cyan blue: A unique food-sourced anthocyanin could replace synthetic brilliant blue

The color of food is critical to the food and beverage industries, as it influences many properties beyond eye-pleasing visuals including flavor, safety, and nutritional value. Blue is one of the rarest colors in nature's food palette-especially a cyan blue-giving scientists few sources for natural blue food colorants. Finding a natural cyan blue dye equivalent to FD&C Blue No. 1 remains an industry-wide challenge and the subject of several research programs worldwide. Computational simulations and large-array spectroscopic techniques were used to determine the 3D chemical structure, color expression, and stability of this previously uncharacterized cyan blue anthocyanin-based colorant. Synthetic biology and computational protein design tools were leveraged to develop an enzymatic transformation of red cabbage anthocyanins into the desired anthocyanin. More broadly, this research demonstrates the power of a multidisciplinary strategy to solve a long-standing challenge in the food industry.

Insights into the Key Aroma Compounds in Mango (Mangifera indica L. 'Haden') Fruits by Stable Isotope Dilution Quantitation and Aroma Simulation Experiments

Thirty-four aroma-active compounds, previously identified with high flavor dilution factors by application of an aroma extract dilution analysis, were quantified in tree-ripened fruits of mango (Mangifera indica L. 'Haden'). From the results, the odor activity value (OAV) was calculated for each compound as the ratio of its concentration in the mangoes to its odor threshold in water. OAVs > 1 were obtained for 24 compounds, among which ethyl 2-methylbutanoate (fruity; OAV 2100), (3E,5Z)-undeca-1,3,5-triene (pineapple-like; OAV 1900), ethyl 3-methylbutanoate (fruity; OAV 1600), and ethyl butanoate (fruity; OAV 980) were the most potent, followed by (2E,6Z)-nona-2,6-dienal (cucumber-like), ethyl 2-methylpropanoate (fruity), (E)-β-damascenone (cooked apple-like), ethyl hexanoate (fruity), 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone (caramel-like), 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol (sulfurous), γ-decalactone (peach-like), β-myrcene (terpeny), (3Z)-hex-3-enal (green), 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (tropical fruit-like), and ethyl octanoate (fruity). Aroma simulation and omission experiments revealed that these 15 compounds, when combined in a model mixture in their natural concentrations, were able to mimic the aroma of the fruits.

Characterization of the major aroma-active compounds in mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars Haden, White Alfonso, Praya Sowoy, Royal Special, and Malindi by application of a comparative aroma extract dilution analysis

The aroma-active compounds present in tree-ripened fruits of the five mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars Haden, White Alfonso, Praya Sowoy, Royal Special, and Malindi were isolated by solvent extraction followed by solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and analyzed by gas chromatography-olfactometery (GC-O). Application of a comparative aroma extract dilution analysis (cAEDA) afforded 54 aroma-active compounds in the flavor dilution (FD) factor range from 4 to ≥2048, 16 of which are reported for the first time in mango. The results of the identification experiments in combination with the FD factors revealed 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone as an important aroma compound in all cultivars analyzed. Twenty-seven aroma-active compounds were present in at least one mango cultivar at an FD factor ≥128. Clear differences in the FD factors of these odorants between each of the mango cultivars suggested that they contributed to the unique sensory profiles of the individual cultivars.

Identification of fruity/fermented odorants in high-temperature-cured roasted peanuts

Gas chromatography/olfactometry on a concentrate of volatiles obtained by solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) from roasted peanuts containing a fruity/fermented off-note was used to identify the odorants responsible for the flavor defect. Freshly dug peanuts were divided into two classes, mature and immature, using pod mesocarp color, and subjected to normal (27 degrees C) and high (40 degrees C) temperature curing. Sensory evaluation of the roasted peanuts found that immature peanuts cured at high temperature contained the fruity/fermented off-note. Mature peanuts cured at high temperature and both immature and mature peanuts cured at low temperature were free of the off-note. Peanuts with the off-flavor were found to contain fruit-like esters (ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, and ethyl 3-methylbutanoate) along with increased levels of short chain organic acids (butanoic, 3-methylbutanoic, and hexanoic). These findings were confirmed by sensory evaluation of models, where the addition of these compounds produced the fruity/fermented flavor defect in a control peanut paste. This is the first time that the odorants responsible for this off-note in roasted peanuts have been identified.