Structural and sensory characteristics of ultrasonic assisted wet‐heating Maillard reaction products of Giant salamander protein hydrolysates

Abstract BACKGROUND Chinese giant salamander protein hydrolysates (CGSPH) are beneficial to human health as a result of their high content of amino acids and peptides. However, the formation of bitter peptides in protein hydrolysates (PHs) would hinder their application in food industry. The ultrasound assisted wet‐heating Maillard reaction (MR) is an effective way to improve the flavor of PHs. Thus, the effect of ultrasonic assisted wet‐heating MR on the structure and flavor of CGSPH was investigated in the present study. RESULTS The results indicated that the ultrasound assisted wet‐heating MR products (MRPs) exhibited a higher degree of graft and more significant changes in the secondary and tertiary structures of CGSPH compared to traditional wet‐heating MRPs. Moreover, ultrasound assisted wet‐heating MR could significantly increase the content of small molecule peptides and reduce the content of free amino acids of CGSPH, which resulted in more significant changes in flavor characteristics. The changed in flavor properties after MR (especially ultrasound assisted wet‐heating MRPs) were mainly manifested by a significant reduction in bitterness, as well as a significant increase in the content of aromatic aldehyde ester compounds such as furan‐2‐carbaldehyde, butanal, benzaldehyde, furfural, etc. CONCLUSIONS Ultrasound assisted wet‐heating MR between CGSPH and xylose could be a promising way to improve the sensory characteristics of CGSPH. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.