Comparative Quantitation of Kokumi -Glutamyl Peptides in Spanish Dry-Cured Ham under Salt-Reduced Production

Salting is a crucial step during the production of dry-cured ham and it is not well known whether it has an impact on the generation of taste-active peptides. The present study focused on the quantitation of kokumi gamma-glutamyl peptides in low-salted Spanish dry-cured hams with 12 months of processing. By using mass spectrometry, peptides were quantitated from samples obtained after ethanolic deproteinization-based and non-ethanolic deproteinization-based extraction methods. Peptides gamma-EA, gamma-EE, and gamma-EL registered mean values of 0.31, 2.75, and 11.35 mu g/g of dry-cured ham, respectively, with no differences observed between both extraction protocols. However, gamma-EF, gamma-EM, gamma-EV, gamma-EW, gamma-EY, and gamma-EVG presented significantly (p < 0.05) higher concentrations in the ethanolic deproteinized samples showing values of 5.58, 4.13, 13.90, 0.77, 3.71, and 0.11 mu g/g of dry-cured ham, respectively. These outcomes reflect the importance of protocols for the extraction of peptides to achieve the most feasible results. In addition, potential precursors for the formation of gamma-glutamyl peptides are generated during dry-curing under salt restriction. The kokumi activity of these gamma-glutamyl peptides could enhance the sensory attributes countering the taste deficiencies caused by the salt restriction.