Chemical properties and sensory preference related to umami flavor from crude hydrolysate of Indonesian snails (Filopaludina javanica)

Abstract

Abstract Flavor enhancers are considered important in the food industry for their ability to add umami taste, which is recognized as the fifth basic taste. Although monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the most common umami provider, it contains a sodium molecule that can negatively affect consumer health. This made flavor enhancers derived from natural resources to become an interesting alternative. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the potential of peptides produced from the digestion of the Filopaludina javanica (FJ) snails using two enzymes, particularly, bromelain and trypsin, to determine their umami characteristics. Several enzymatic digestion conditions, including enzyme-to-substrate ratios (E/S) of 1/10, 1/20, and 1/00 (w/v), as well as hydrolysis times of 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 15, and 18 hours, were examined. The study also assessed the degree of hydrolysis (DH), total peptides, and amino acid content. To evaluate the sensory properties of the resulting peptides, hedonic testing, and principal component analysis were conducted to determine taste, aroma, and color attributes. The results showed that the highest total acceptance was obtained from bromelain and trypsin hydrolysis with an E/S ratio of 1/10 but at different hydrolysis times of 18 and 15 hours, respectively. These samples had DH values of 51.26% and 56.10%, total peptide contents of 8.26 mg/mL and 6.63 mg/mL, and amino acid contents of 88.16 ppm and 79.85 ppm, respectively. The most preferred samples were subjected to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and database-assisted identification to determine their peptide compositions. Among the peptides identified, the top three from bromelain digestion were GPLGPLGPQGIPG, GLPGLPGLPGPKG, and PKEVNVAMIVGL VVAG, while the peptides from trypsin hydrolysate included FDNAGAMMSV, LGGSLLGL, and ATKALAMD CEMVGVGRNGEESVLARVSLVNQHGNCIYDKFVKA. In conclusion, the results showed that snail hydrolysate peptides held promise as natural flavor enhancers.

Keywords

• Indonesian snails
• Flavor enhancers
• Protein hydrolysate
• LC-MS/MS
• Sensory analysis