Abstract: Salt is a seasoning widely used in the food industry and our daily diet. Excessive intake of salt, whose major component is sodium chloride, will increase the risks of multiple diseases such as hypertension, gastric cancer, and stroke. How to reduce the salt content of foods without affecting the flavor is a hot topic of current research. Structural and compositional optimization of solid sodium chloride, which constitutes an important part of daily dietary salt intake, is an effective way to develop low-salt foods. This article provides a detailed discussion on the mechanisms of salty taste perception and sodium absorption and metabolism in the body, and summarizes the salt reduction strategies developed based on structural regulation and compositional design of sodium chloride in recent years. The novel technologies for reducing the salt content without affecting the salty taste, such as regulating the physical structure (morphology and particle size) of sodium chloride, encapsulating sodium chloride, and adding sodium chloride substitutes (salty mineral salts, flavor enhancers and natural taste substances) are discussed. In the end, the salt reduction mechanisms, shortcomings and applicable scenarios of salt with different structures and components are analyzed. We hope that this review will provide theoretical evidence and technical support to design new salt products, develop low-salt foods, reduce the dietary salt intake of residents and improve human health in the future.

Key words: sodium chloride; salt reduction strategies; salty taste perception; structural design; healthy diet