Abstract: With the improvement of living conditions, people’s eating habits gradually trend to “healthy” development. However, it is difficult to strike a balance between “healthy” and “delicious”. Seasoning is a crucial step during cooking. Saltiness is one of the five basic tastes, and it is produced mainly by adding salt in daily life. Salt plays an important role in human life, but excessive sodium intake can lead to many cardiovascular diseases. Today many health authorities around the world advocate a low-sodium diet. In this context, reducing the amount of salt in foods without affecting their flavor or quality has become a popular research topic. This paper reviews the mechanism of salty taste perception and the current status of salt reduction in foods, with special focuse on salty peptides. The sources, preparation and identification methods, synergistic effect and application prospects of salty peptides are outlined in this paper, so as to provide a basis for the development and application of salty peptides, which will help in advancing the salt reduction campaign.

Key words: taste perception, salt reduction, salty peptides, preparation and identification, saltiness enhancement