Non-volatile taste components and amino acid profile of jengkol (Pithecellobium jiringa) seed flour after steam blanching

Abstract

Jengkol (Pithecellobium jiringa) is a typical plant in the tropical region of Southeast Asia that is mostly liked by indonesian people because of savory taste. Jengkol seeds having high protein and healthy effects need processing for keeping their nutrient quality. This study aims to determine the effect of steam blanching on the non-volatile taste components of jengkol seeds. The results showed that steam blanching during 5 min decreased the total content of soluble sugars from 998.10 to 903.59 ppm, organic acid from 442.80 to 362.89 ppm and 5ʹ-nucleotides from 2.92 to 2.57 mg/g dry weight. However, steam blanching could be able to increase the total content of free amino acids from 40.99 to 44.98 mg/g dry weight. The EUC (equivalent umami concentration) value in jengkol seeds also increased from 38.27 to 42.22 g MSG/100 g dry weight. The total content of amino acids also increased slightly from 9.81% to 10.08% (w/w) on jengkol seed flour after blanching treatment. Jengkol seed flour consists of hydrophobic amino acids (36.00–34.41%). The E/T value decreased from 35.54% to 33.92% but the PER (protein efficiency ratio) value increased from 2.43 to 2.63 on jengkol seed flour after steam blanching treatment. The steam blanching treatment increased the MSG-like components in jengkol seed flour and also gave the sweet taste and prevented the formation of the bitter taste. Hence, jengkol seed flour showed a high potential to serve as a functional food with a umami taste.

Keywords

• jengkol
• steam blanching
• non-volatile taste components
• equivalent umami concentration (euc)
• hplc
• lc-ms/ms