Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41760403›Full record

ReviewJournal of the science of food and agriculture2026

N-Lactoyl amino acids in fermented foods: occurrence, biosynthesis, and flavor enhancement mechanisms.

Jun Li, Xiaolin Li, Jing Wu, Chun Cui, Terry Acree

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of the science of food and agriculture, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Jun LiGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Lingnan Specialty Food Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Green Processing and Intelligent Manufacturing of Lingnan Specialty Food, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural, College of Light Industry and Food, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7650-8206
Xiaolin LiGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Lingnan Specialty Food Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Green Processing and Intelligent Manufacturing of Lingnan Specialty Food, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural, College of Light Industry and Food, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China.
Jing WuCollege of Oceanology and Food Science, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou, China.
Chun CuiSchool of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3231-2143
Terry AcreeDepartment of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.

Funding

the Key Laboratory of Processing and Nutritional Health of Tropical and Subtropical Aquatic Specialty Foods (2023KSYS006)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

N-Lactoyl amino acids (Lac-AAs) are common metabolites in fermented foods, contributing to their distinctive flavors. This review examines the natural occurrence of Lac-AAs in fermented dairy products, meats, vegetables, alcoholic beverages, and traditional fermented foods. It discusses the microorganisms involved in Lac-AA synthesis - particularly lactic acid bacteria and specific yeasts - together with the enzymatic mechanisms underlying their formation. The taste characteristics of different Lac-AAs are highlighted, together with their roles in enhancing umami, modulating the kokumi effect, and masking bitterness at various threshold concentrations. Molecular docking studies provide insight into interactions between Lac-AAs and taste receptors, including T1R1/T1R3 for umami perception and CaSR for kokumi perception, explaining their sensory properties at the molecular level. Structure-activity relationships of Lac-AAs are also analyzed, providing a basis for the development of targeted flavor enhancers. These results emphasize the importance of Lac-AAs as natural flavor modulators in fermented foods and suggest potential applications in food flavor improvement and formula optimization. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Indexed as

Amino AcidsFermented FoodsFlavoring AgentsAnimalsFermentationHumansLactobacillalesTasteVegetablesYeastsAmino AcidsFlavoring Agentsenzymatic synthesisfermented foodsflavor enhancementN‐lactoyl amino acidstaste receptors

Identifiers

PMID41760403
PMCPMC13442707

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.