Effect of Peptides in Wheat Gluten Hydrolyzate on Basic Tastes

Abstract

A peptide fraction possessing molecular weight 500 to 1, 000 was prepared from the deamidated wheat gluten hydrolyzate. The effect of this peptide fraction on the strength of primary tastes was examined.
The addition of this peptide fraction into umami taste solution enhanced the strength of umami. The enhancement of umami was caused by the drop in threshold value of umami taste. On the other hand, the addition of the peptides fraction into sour and bitter taste solutions depressed the strength of sourness and bitterness, respectively. The depression of the strength of these tastes resulted from the rise in the threshold values of both tastes. Furthermore, the buffering capacity of the peptide fraction was also shown to contribute to depression of the strength of sourness.