Non-volatile taste active compounds in the meat of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis)

The non-volatile taste active compounds, including soluble sugars, succinic acid, free amino acids and flavour 5′-nucleotides in the meat of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) were analyzed, and their taste impacts were evaluated by taste active values (TAVs) and equivalent umami concentration (EUC) methods. The total free amino acid content of crab meat was 20.9 mg/g. Arginine, glycine and alanine were the major free amino acids, accounting for more than 70% of the total free amino acids. 5′-Adenosine monophosphate (AMP) was the main flavour 5′-nucleotide (75.3 mg/100 g), followed by 5′-inosine monophosphate (IMP) (34.4 mg/100 g) and 5′-guanosine monophosphate (GMP) (2.3 mg/100 g). Arginine, glycine, alanine, glutamic acid, IMP and AMP were of high TAV (greater than one), and they had strong taste impacts on the crab meat flavour. Glycine and alanine contributed to the major sweet taste, while glutamic acid, IMP and AMP contributed to the strong umami taste. As the TAVs of soluble sugar, succinic acid and bitter free amino acids were lower than one, thus those compounds are likely to have insignificant impact on the taste of the crab meat. The EUC was 4.2 g MSG/100 g crab meat, which meant that the umami taste of the crab meat was very intense.