Flavourful insights into the saltiness perception of samphire

Samphire has been used as a salt substitute in cooked foods. However, the mechanism of its saltiness perception has not been fully understood. This study aimed to investigate whether saltiness could be induced either as a direct contribution from the volatiles within samphire or through involvement...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Saumya Sood, Lisa Methven, Qiaofen Cheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Science Talks
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772569325000076
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832087409890689024
author Saumya Sood
Lisa Methven
Qiaofen Cheng
author_facet Saumya Sood
Lisa Methven
Qiaofen Cheng
author_sort Saumya Sood
collection DOAJ
description Samphire has been used as a salt substitute in cooked foods. However, the mechanism of its saltiness perception has not been fully understood. This study aimed to investigate whether saltiness could be induced either as a direct contribution from the volatiles within samphire or through involvement in Maillard reaction during cooking.Odour profiling of samphire extracts revealed aromas such as seaweed, grassy green and tomato vine, relating to around 80 volatile compounds. However, these volatiles did not significantly enhance saltiness. Samphire extracts were incorporated into nachos at an equivalent sodium content to a control (with added NaCl) to investigate its contribution to saltiness perception through Maillard reaction. Sensory profiling revealed that samphire nachos were significantly saltier than control, alongside stronger umami taste and a distinctive green vegetable flavour. The Strecker aldehydes and the pyrazines were substantially and significantly higher in the samphire nachos than these in control. Pyrazines like 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, 2,3-dimethylpyrazine and 2-ethyl-5-methylpyrazines have previously been reported associated with enhancing salty taste. In conclusion, these Maillard derived compounds resulting from samphire addition may contribute to the increased saltiness of samphire nachos, supporting samphire extracts to be used as a combined salt substitute and flavour enhancer in heat-treated food products.
format Article
id doaj-art-a8893fef1c504b0ea4f44cc8c45853be
institution Kabale University
issn 2772-5693
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Science Talks
spelling doaj-art-a8893fef1c504b0ea4f44cc8c45853be2025-02-06T05:13:04ZengElsevierScience Talks2772-56932025-03-0113100425Flavourful insights into the saltiness perception of samphireSaumya Sood0Lisa Methven1Qiaofen Cheng2Department of Food and Nutrition Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UKDepartment of Food and Nutrition Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UKCorresponding author.; Department of Food and Nutrition Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UKSamphire has been used as a salt substitute in cooked foods. However, the mechanism of its saltiness perception has not been fully understood. This study aimed to investigate whether saltiness could be induced either as a direct contribution from the volatiles within samphire or through involvement in Maillard reaction during cooking.Odour profiling of samphire extracts revealed aromas such as seaweed, grassy green and tomato vine, relating to around 80 volatile compounds. However, these volatiles did not significantly enhance saltiness. Samphire extracts were incorporated into nachos at an equivalent sodium content to a control (with added NaCl) to investigate its contribution to saltiness perception through Maillard reaction. Sensory profiling revealed that samphire nachos were significantly saltier than control, alongside stronger umami taste and a distinctive green vegetable flavour. The Strecker aldehydes and the pyrazines were substantially and significantly higher in the samphire nachos than these in control. Pyrazines like 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, 2,3-dimethylpyrazine and 2-ethyl-5-methylpyrazines have previously been reported associated with enhancing salty taste. In conclusion, these Maillard derived compounds resulting from samphire addition may contribute to the increased saltiness of samphire nachos, supporting samphire extracts to be used as a combined salt substitute and flavour enhancer in heat-treated food products.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772569325000076Maillard-reactionSaltiness perceptionSalt substituteOdour-induced saltiness enhancement
spellingShingle Saumya Sood
Lisa Methven
Qiaofen Cheng
Flavourful insights into the saltiness perception of samphire
Science Talks
Maillard-reaction
Saltiness perception
Salt substitute
Odour-induced saltiness enhancement
title Flavourful insights into the saltiness perception of samphire
title_full Flavourful insights into the saltiness perception of samphire
title_fullStr Flavourful insights into the saltiness perception of samphire
title_full_unstemmed Flavourful insights into the saltiness perception of samphire
title_short Flavourful insights into the saltiness perception of samphire
title_sort flavourful insights into the saltiness perception of samphire
topic Maillard-reaction
Saltiness perception
Salt substitute
Odour-induced saltiness enhancement
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772569325000076
work_keys_str_mv AT saumyasood flavourfulinsightsintothesaltinessperceptionofsamphire
AT lisamethven flavourfulinsightsintothesaltinessperceptionofsamphire
AT qiaofencheng flavourfulinsightsintothesaltinessperceptionofsamphire