Calculated Taste Activity Values and Umami Equivalences Explain Why Dried Sha-chong (Sipunculus nudus) Is a Valuable Condiment

Active nonvolatile taste active compoundsincluding free amino acids, flavor 5'-nucleotides, lactic acid, succinic acid, and four kinds of inorganic ions in dried Sha-chong (Sipunculus nudus)were analyzed. The results were then used to calculate taste activity values (TAVs) and equivalent umami concentration (EUC) to evaluate their potential contributions to depth of flavor. Our results showed that the total free amino acid content of dried Sha-chong was 56.62 mg/g; glycine, arginine, and alanine as the major free amino acids, accounting for more than 76% of the total free amino acids; 5'-adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and 5'-inosine monophosphate (IMP) were the main flavor 5'-nucleotides (128.8 and 121.0 mg/100 g); guanosine monophosphate (GMP) was present in a small amount, only 14.6 mg/100 g. Eight amino acidsespecially Gly, Arg, and Ala,three flavor 5'-nucleotides, succinic acid, sodium, potassium, phosphate, and chloride ions were of high TAV greater than 1. The EUC of dried Sha-chong was 49.12 g MSG/100 g, which meant that the dried Sha-chong has a strong umami taste and is suitable for use as umami condiment.