SENSORY IDENTIFICATION OF EFFECTIVE COMPO NENTS FOR MASKING BITTERNESS OF ARGININE IN SYNTHETIC EXTRACT OF SCALLOP

It was reported that a simplified synthetic extract of scallop muscle satisfactorily reproduced the taste of the natural extract, and that n either the natural nor the synthetic extract was bitter, despite their having the concentration of Arg approximately 6 times as high as the threshold concentration (50mg/100ml), These results suggest that one o r more of extractive components mask the bitterness of Arg. In order t o identify the effective component(s), sensory rests were conducted an d :he following results were obtained, (1) A 0.3% Arg solution was per ceived as strongly bitter with weak sweetness. The relative strength o f sweetness to bitterness was higher in dilute Arg solutions, 0.15 and 0.075%, than the above concentrated solution. (2) It was confirmed by the omission test employing the synthetic extract that Arg did not im part bitterness to the extract. (3) Glu, adenosine 5'-monophosphate (A MP), Glu + AMP and NaCl were found in addition test to decrease the st rength of bitterness due to Arg, with NaCl being the most effective. T he effectiveness of NaCl was confirmed in another addition test, in wh ich the panelists could not discriminate NaCl solution from NaCl + Arg solution in terms oi bitterness.