Chemical and taste characteristics of threadfin bream (Nemipterus japonicus) hydrolysate

The chemical and taste characteristics of threadfin bream (Nemipterus japonicus) hydrolysate produced by Alcalase hydrolysis of the fish muscle (pH 8.5, 60 °C, 120 min, enzyme/substrate ratio 20 g kg^-1) were studied. Umami, bitter and fishy were the dominant tastes. The bitter amino acids methionine, valine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, leucine and tyrosine comprised 317 mg g^-1 of the total amino acids present. The umaminess could be due to the presence of high contents of glutamic acid and inosine 5ʹ-monophosphate. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the peptides in the hydrolysate had molecular weights ranging between 7.2 and 64 kDa.