Enhancement of saltiness perception by odorants selected from Chinese soy sauce: A gas chromatography/olfactometry-associated taste study

Odor-taste interaction has become a popular salt reduction method. In this study, the odorants associated with saltiness in soy sauce were selected by gas chromatography/olfactometry-associated taste (GC/O-AT), and their ability to induce saltiness/umami enhancement was verified by sensory evaluation. A total of 30 taste-associated odorants were perceived, including 5 saltiness-associated and 2 umami-associated odorants. Among them, 3-(methylthio)propanal, 1-octen-3-ol, 3-(methylthio)-1-propanol, and 2,5-dimethylpyrazine could significantly enhance saltiness of 0.3% NaCl solution (p < 0.05). Furthermore, 3-(methylthio)propanal, maltol, 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone (HDMF), dimethyl trisulfide, 3-(methylthio)-1-propanol and 1-octen-3-ol could also enhance the umami taste in 0.3% monosodium glutamate solution. Compared with zero or strong-salt-content (0.8%) solution, the saltiness of weak-salt-content (0.3%) was enhanced significantly by adding the odorant. These results suggest that salty food is an efficient source for selecting saltiness-enhancing odorants, which could be used to compensate NaCl reduction in food.