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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Taste Exam: A Brief and Validated Test
Published on: August 17, 2018
Sensory-Guided Analysis of Key Taste-Active Compounds in Pufferfish (Takifugu obscurus)
Ninglong Zhang1,2, Charfedinne Ayed3, Wenli Wang2
1Department of Food Science & Technology, School of Agriculture and Biology , Shanghai Jiaotong University , Shanghai 200240 , People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
To investigate key taste-active components in Takifugu obscurus, 28 putative taste compounds in cooked muscle of T. obscurus 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 T. obscurus 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 T. obscurus. Besides glutamic acid, IMP, succinic acid, and potassium, the characteristic T. obscurus-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 T. obscurus and provide the basis for the development of deeper flavor analysis of pufferfish.
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