• Biomed Res Int · Jan 2015

    Review

    Umami the Fifth Basic Taste: History of Studies on Receptor Mechanisms and Role as a Food Flavor.

    • Kenzo Kurihara.
    • Aomori University, Aomori 030-0943, Japan.
    • Biomed Res Int. 2015 Jan 1; 2015: 189402.

    AbstractThree umami substances (glutamate, 5'-inosinate, and 5'-guanylate) were found by Japanese scientists, but umami has not been recognized in Europe and America for a long time. In the late 1900s, umami was internationally recognized as the fifth basic taste based on psychophysical, electrophysiological, and biochemical studies. Three umami receptors (T1R1 + T1R3, mGluR4, and mGluR1) were identified. There is a synergism between glutamate and the 5'-nucleotides. Among the above receptors, only T1R1 + T1R3 receptor exhibits the synergism. In rats, the response to a mixture of glutamate and 5'-inosinate is about 1.7 times larger than that to glutamate alone. In human, the response to the mixture is about 8 times larger than that to glutamate alone. Since glutamate and 5'-inosinate are contained in various foods, we taste umami induced by the synergism in daily eating. Hence umami taste induced by the synergism is a main umami taste in human.

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