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Umami taste perception following dietary glutamate supplementation
Author(s) -
Noel Corinna A.,
Dando Robin
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.643.15
Subject(s) - umami , monosodium glutamate , taste , food science , flavor , chemistry
Habitual consumption of sweet, salt, or fat diminishes subsequent perceived taste intensity, and shifts preference to higher concentrations. It is unknown whether such an effect occurs with umami, the taste for savory, which arises from protein or amino acid consumption. While the appetitive tastes for sweet, salt and fat have been heavily studied, umami is firmly the least characterized basic taste, despite its relevance to our diet, food choice, and metabolic health. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of repeated consumption of umami stimuli on taste perception in a randomized controlled study design. 59 healthy, non‐restrained subjects aged 18–54 supplemented their regular diet with a vegetable broth daily for one month; the treatment group drank an umami‐rich monosodium glutamate (MSG) supplemented broth, while the control group drank the same broth without MSG, matched for sodium content. Groups were balanced for sex and glutamate consumption, a proxy for umami taste stimulation, evaluated with a diet history questionnaire prior to testing. Suprathreshold intensity ratings for umami, sweet, and salty were assessed via the general Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS) throughout supplementation. The MSG broth was rated as more intensely umami in initial testing (average difference between groups=9.9 gLMS units, 95% CI=[1.4,18.5], p=0.024), as would be expected, although not more salty. Once supplementation commenced, this difference in umami perception of the broths disappeared, implying that umami taste was desensitized through habitual consumption. Specifically after one week of supplementation, the MSG group perceived umami in the broth to be 23.8% less intense compared to week 1 (average decrease=7.0 gLMS units, 95% CI=[1.3,12.7], p=0.010). No changes were observed in the control group for umami, or in either group for sweet or salty tastes over the same time period. These results suggest that umami taste can be selectively modulated by a diet high in glutamate in a relatively short period of time, in an effect similar to the relation between diet and taste of salt, sugar, and fat, and may have consequences for food choice and underlying metabolic health. Support or Funding Information N/A