Kokumi Substances in Soybean Seeds

Certain soy-based foods such as soymilk and the roasted beans improve the taste of other food products by enhancing the sensation of thickness, continuity, and mouthfulness. These features are characteristics of koku, which acts as a taste attribute, additional to the five basic tastes. Although there are reports of kokumi substances being isolated from various edible materials, there have been no reports to date on the kokumi substances of soymilk or soybean. In this study, we applied sensory-guided fractionation and taste-related sensory analysis to isolate and extract the key contributors to koku in processed soybean. In addition, to gain insight into the genetic diversities and molecular mechanisms of accumulation of kokumi substances in soybean seeds, we measured the content of these substances in soybean accessions from Japan and world mini core collections. These studies will lead to the increase of the kokumi substances in soybean seeds and improve the palatability of soy-food.