Glutamate: from Discovery As a Food Flavor to Role As a Basic Taste (umami)

Overview

Journal Am J Clin Nutr

Publisher Elsevier

Specialty Nutritional Sciences

Date 2009 Jul 31

PMID 19640953

Citations 36

Authors

Kenzo Kurihara

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In 1908 Kikunae Ikeda identified the unique taste component of konbu (kelp) as the salt of glutamic acid and coined the term umami to describe this taste. After Ikeda's discovery, other umami taste substances, such as inosinate and guanylate, were identified. Over the past several decades, the properties of these umami substances have been characterized. Recently, umami has been shown to be the fifth basic taste, in addition to sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

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