1. College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024,China;
2. School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Progress, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Abstract As one of five basic tastes, umami plays an important role in diet culture. This article summarizes the concept and physiological formation of umami, kinds and structures of representative umami compounds, and mechanism of umami taste perception. Notably, from the chemistry perspective, the chemical compositions, structures and structure-activity relationships of umami substances are mainly discussed.
