Industrial monosodium glutamate

In the food industries a number of amino acids have been widely used as flavor enhancers and flavor modifiers (see Flavors and spices). For example, monosodium L-glutamate is well-known as a meat flavor-enhancer and an enormous quantity of it is now used in various food appHcations (see Amino acids, L-MONOSODIUM glutamate (MSG)). Protein, hydroly2ed by acid or en2yme to be palatable, has been used for a long time in flavoring agents. 

Borden Industrial Food Products, Northbrook, Illinois, manufacture Wyler Soups and Wyler Brand CB-M flavor concentrates. One of the latter, for example, 78-62 Beef Flavor, contains hydrolyzed vegetable protein, dextrose, sucrose, vegetable oil, salt, monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, onion powder, and garlic powder. They are similar to, but not identical with, Pfizer s CORRAL, which also contains arabinose, cysteine, P-alanine, and glycine. Wyler Brand 78-50 Chicken Flavor also contains some chicken. 

A variety of bacterial species have been used for almost 40 years in the large-scale fermentative production of amino acids for industrial uses. The Corynebacteria have been most widely used in this application as a result of their propensity to overproduce and excrete very high concentrations of amino acids under specific process conditions and their early development for monosodium glutamate production. However, other organisms including E. coli have also been successfully used in the production of amino acids such as phenylalanine. 

Fermentation is also the basis for the manufacture of biomass foodstuffs (primarily protein for animal and human consumption), amino acids (especially monosodium glutamate and L-lysine), and the major industrial feedstock and gasoline additive, ethanol. 

S -Phosphodiesterase Several reports have appeared describing the semi-industrial scale application of immobilized 5 -phosphodies-terase for production of S -mononucleotides (IMP, AMP, GMP, UMP, CMP) to be used as flavor enhancers (30,41,42). In Japan, the enzyme is immobilized on a porous ceramic support and used (in combination with a similarly immobilized 5f-adenylate deaminase to convert AMP to IMP) to produce the S -mononucleotides from RNA (30,41). The deamination is desirable since IMP and GMP act synergistically with monosodium glutamate as a flavor enhancer. 

There has been considerable interest from both academics and industry in this reaction since 1980. There are a wide number of uses for the amido acid products surface-active agents and specialty surfactants (Cio-Cie amido acids), intermediates for aspartame sweeteners (phenylalanine), food additives (monosodium glutamate), and chelating agents (iminoacetic acid and polyamido acids). Knifton (Texaco) has done extensive studies of this reaction, as have Ojima and coworkers. ... 

Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a compound represented by the formula C5H8NNa04 H2O, is a sodium salt of the naturally occurring glutamic acid. Glutamic acid, first isolated in 1886, became an important industrial chemical when its sodium salt was found to enhance... 

Flavor enhancers are used imiversally in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Sugar, carboxylic acids (e.g., citric, malic, and tartaric), common salt (NaCl), amino acids, some amino acid derivatives (e.g., monosodium glutamate—MSG), and spices (e.g., peppers) are most often employed. Although extremely effective with proteins and vegetables, MSG has limited use in pharmaceuticals because it is not a sweetener. Citric acid is most frequently used to enhance taste performance of both liquid and solid pharmaceutical products, as well as a variety of foods. Other acidic agents, such as malic and tartaric acids, are also used for flavor enhancement. In oral liquids, these acids contribute unique and complex organoleptic effects, increasing overall flavor quality. Common salt provides similar effects at its taste threshold level in liquid pharmaceuticals. Vanilla, for example, has a delicate bland flavor, which is effectively enhanced by salt. 

USE In the production of soybean oil. As food and feed -stuff. Debittered soybean flour contains practically no starch and is widely used in dietetic foods. Soybean meal obtained after expressing the oil is a preferred source of protein for feedstuffs. Other products are soybean lecithin, genistin, monosodium glutamate, soybean milk, soy sauce tofu, a soybean curd ntiso, a fermented mixture with barley or rice nutio, which is soybean cheese. Soybean proteins are used also in the adhesive and plastics industries. 

Some people are sensitive to MSG, with reactions including migraines and chest pains. Monosodium glutamate has undergone extensive testing and research in the food industry, and the FDA has classified it as generally recognized as safe. It is widely used to add flavor and umami to many foods. 

Non-essential natural amino acid. In neuroscience, glutamate is an important neurotransmitter that plays a key role in long-term potentiation and is important for learning and memory. L-glutamic acid is widely used in the food industry for the production of monosodium glutamate (Umami taste). 

In 1908, Dr. Kikunae Ikeda identified monosodium glutamate (MSG) as the compound imparting the taste of Umami to numerous foods. Umami is distinct from other tastes such as bitter, sour, salty and sweet. Ikeda and his colleagues began to industrially produce MSG by subjecting wheat protein gluten to acid hydrolysis. Ajinomoto Co. Inc. was the first company to produce MSG on an industrial scale. 

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