Abstract:

The shrimp heads of Penaeus vannamei were homogenize mechanically and automatically hydrolyzed by endogenous enzymes in them and the main taste-active components in the autolysate were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography, automatic amino acid analyzer or atomic absorption spectrometry. Rich free amino acids (up to 9300 mg/L) were found in the autolysate, and aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine and alanine, which are main amino acids responsible for umami flavor, accounted for 22.9% of the total free amino acids. The content of inosine monophosphate (IMP) greatly contributing to umami flavor was 6.12 mg/L. The contents of Na+, K+ and Cl－ were 663.7, 182.1 and 417.2 mg/L, respectively. Moreover, the contents of betaine, lactic acid and succinic acid were 2400, 15.27 and 13.32 mg/L, respectively. All these components quantified contributed to umami taste, sweetness and overall taste of the autolysate.

Key words: Penaeus vannamei shrimp head, autolysate, taste-active components