ReviewNPJ science of food2023
The flavor-enhancing action of glutamate and its mechanism involving the notion of kokumi.
Review in NPJ science of food, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed.
- Valorisation of Edible Mushroom By-Products as Natural Flavour Enhancers in Plant-Based Foods: Mechanisms, Sensory Profiles, and Industrial Translation.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Sodium Priority Hypothesis: A Conceptual Taste-Nutrition Framework Linking Salt Taste, Umami and Food Acceptance.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Effects of glutamate supplementation on feed consumption, intestinal histology, growth performance, muscle mass, intestinal barrier, and antioxidant-immune genes in the juvenile giant freshwater prawn,Veterinary and animal science · 2026Article
- Effects of Exogenous Monosodium Glutamate on GABA Accumulation and Volatile/Nonvolatile Metabolites in Black Highland Barley.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Kokumi Peptides in Salt Reduction: Preparation, Evaluation Methods, Perceptual Mechanisms, and Prospects for Food Applications.Journal of food science · 2026Review
- Concomitant intake of high levels of monosodium glutamate and taurine induces adverse effects in the rat brain.Toxicology reports · 2026Article
- Valorization of Food By-Products into a Zero-Waste Broth: Effects of Yeast Extract on Composition and Sensory Properties.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Kokumi substances as taste modulators: sensory properties and molecular mechanisms.Chemical senses · 2026Review
- Article
- Effects of dietary valine/isoleucine ratio and slaughter weight on the composition of pork flavor precursors.Animal nutrition (Zhongguo xu mu shou yi xue hui) · 2025Article
- Taste disorders in cancer patients and current therapeutic approaches: a narrative review of an understudied topic in supportive care.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Review
- Food additives in Latin America: a descriptive analysis of the packaged food supply in five countries.Globalization and health · 2025Article
- Discovery and mechanistic profiling of novel kokumi peptides from Wuding chicken soup.Food chemistry: X · 2025Article
- Dry-Aged Beef: A Global Review of Meat Quality Traits, Microbiome Dynamics, Safety, and Sustainable Strategies.Journal of food science · 2025Review
- The Biological Functions of Yeast and Yeast Derivatives and Their Application in Swine Production: A Review.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- An integrated metabolomics-flavoromics analysis reveals flavor diversity in indigenous and hybrid cattle via UHPLC-MS/MS and GC×GC-TOF-MS.Food chemistry: X · 2025Article
- Membrane ATPases and Mitochondrial Proteins in Fetal Cerebellum After Exposure to L-Glutamate During Gestation.Membranes · 2025Article
- Article
- GPRC6A as a novel kokumi receptor responsible for enhanced taste preferences by ornithine.eLife · 2025Article
- Comprehensive Insights of Biochemical and Sensory Characterization inFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The sodium salt of glutamic acid, or monosodium glutamate (MSG), has two effects in foods: one is to induce a unique taste called umami, which is one of the five basic tastes, and the other is to make food palatable (i.e., flavor-enhancing or seasoning effects). However, the mechanism behind how MSG makes food more palatable remains poorly understood, although many food scientists seem to believe that the umami taste itself plays an important role. Here, we propose an alternative notion regarding this topic based on previous and recent studies. When added to complex food compositions, MSG facilitates the binding of existing kokumi substances to kokumi receptors. In turn, these bound kokumi substances enhance the intensity of umami, sweet, salty, and fatty tastes, resulting in increased palatability accompanied by kokumi flavor, such as thickness, mouthfulness, and continuity. The requisite for sufficient palatability and kokumi flavor is a good balance of umami and kokumi substances. This framework gives a scientifically useful background for providing newly developed foods, including cultured meat and plant-based meat substitutes, with good taste characteristics.
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.