Rapid screening and taste mechanism of novel umami peptides from natural tripeptide database

Small peptides, particularly tripeptides, play a crucial role in food umami taste. To dig for more umami tripeptides, the novel tripeptides pharmacophore model was established to rapidly screen umami peptides from natural tripeptide database. Twenty peptides with potential umami characteristics from 8000 tripeptides were further screened by molecular docking. The electronic tongue analysis and sensory evaluation suggested that the 20 tripeptides exhibited umami taste characteristics. The thresholds of the 20 tripeptides spanned from 0.137 to 2.237 mmol/L. Molecular dynamics simulations were used on T1R1 and four tripeptides with high umami intensity to reveal their taste mechanisms. In this study, a new screening strategy was established and 20 new umami tripeptides were identified and validated, providing a theoretical reference for rapid screening of umami tripeptides.