Sensory-Guided Analysis of Key Taste-Active Compounds in Pufferfish ().

To investigate key taste-active components in , 28 putative taste compounds in cooked muscle of were quantitatively analyzed and the pivotal components were identified by taste reconstitution, omission, and addition tests. Moreover, the role of flavor peptides in the overall taste profile of was evaluated. Sensory evaluation revealed that glutamic acid, serine, proline, arginine, lysine, adenosine 5'-monophosphate, inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP), succinic acid, sodium, potassium, phosphates, and chlorides were the core taste-active contributors to . Besides glutamic acid, IMP, succinic acid, and potassium, the characteristic -like umami and kokumi profiles were induced by adding flavor peptides, among which Pro-Val-Ala-Arg-Met-Cys-Arg and Tyr-Gly-Gly-Thr-Pro-Pro-Phe-Val were identified as key substances on the basis of the addition test and dose-response analysis. The present data may help to reveal the secret of the delicious taste of and provide the basis for the development of deeper flavor analysis of pufferfish.