Umami-active tomato fraction

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9867390-B2
Application number	US-201214365808-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 4, 2012
Priority date	Dec 22, 2011
Publication date	Jan 16, 2018
Grant date	Jan 16, 2018

Abstract

The invention provides an efficient method for producing a high quality umami-active tomato fraction, said process comprising the steps of: a. providing a tomato serum; b. separating the tomato serum into two or more portions, including a lycopene-depleted portion and a lycopene-enriched portion; c. concentrating the lycopene-depleted portion to at least 10° Brix; d. chromatographically fractionating the concentrated lycopene-depleted portion into two or more fractions, including a crude umami fraction with a weight ratio glutamate:monosaccharide of X and a monosaccharide fraction with a weight ratio glutamate:monosaccharide of Y, wherein the ratio X:Y exceeds 20; e. optionally, concentrating the crude umami fraction; f. chromatographically fractionating the crude umami fraction into two or more fractions, including a clean umami fraction with a weight ratio glutamate:citrate of K and a citrate fraction with a weight ratio glutamate:citrate of L, wherein the ratio K:L exceeds 10. The invention further relates to a tomato isolate comprising glutamate, aspartate and sucrose; wherein the weight ratio glutamate:citrate exceeds 2 and wherein glutamate, 5′-AMP, aspartate and pyroglutamate together represent at least 15 wt. % of the dry matter contained in the tomato isolate.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising the steps of:
a. providing a tomato serum having a total solids content of 0.05-30 wt %;
b. separating the tomato serum into two or more portions, including a lycopene-depleted portion and a lycopene-enriched portion, the lycopene content of the lycopene-depleted portion being less than 30 wt % of that of the lycopene-enriched portion, both the lycopene contents being calculated on dry matter; wherein the separating step further comprises at least one of:
(i) micro-filtering the tomato serum through a micro-filter having a pore-size of less than 10 micrometers or
(ii) ultra-filtrating the tomato serum through a membrane with a molecular weight cut off of 250 kDa or less;
to produce the lycopene-depleted portion as a permeate and the lycopene-enriched portion as a retentate;

c. concentrating the lycopene-depleted portion to at least 10° Brix;
d. chromatographically fractionating the concentrated lycopene-depleted portion into two or more fractions, including a crude umami fraction with a weight ratio glutamate:monosaccharide of X and a monosaccharide fraction with a weight ratio glutamate:monosaccharide of Y, wherein the ratio X:Y exceeds 20; wherein the concentrated lycopene-depleted portion is chromatographically fractionated using ion exclusion chromatography; and wherein the crude umami fraction has a weight ratio citrate:monosaccharide of at least 1;
e. optionally, concentrating the crude umami fraction;
f. chromatographically fractionating the crude umami fraction into two or more fractions, including a clean umami fraction with a weight ratio glutamate:citrate of K and a citrate fraction with a weight ratio glutamate:citrate of L, wherein the ratio K:L exceeds 10; wherein the crude glutamate fraction is chromatographically fractionated using ion exclusion chromatography or ion exchange chromatography.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein prior to step d), the lycopene-depleted portion is treated to reduce a total amount of calcium and magnesium ions in said portion, calculated on dry matter, by at least a factor of 4.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein prior to step d), the lycopene-depleted portion is treated to reduce a total amount of calcium and magnesium ions in said portion to less than 50 mmol per kg of dry matter.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the lycopene-depleted portion contains, by weight of dry matter: 30-80% monosaccharides; 0.5-8% sucrose; 2-30% citrate; 1.5-20% glutamate; 0.4-6% aspartate; 0.5-15% pyroglutamate 0.1-3% 5 ′-adenosine monophosphate (5′-AMP); 0-30% of other tomato components.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the crude umami fraction contains, by weight of dry matter: 0-20% monosaccharides; 0.5-20% sucrose; 5-40% citrate; 3-40% glutamate; 1-10% aspartate; 1-20% pyroglutamate 0.1-5% 5′-AMP; 0-40% of other tomato components.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the monosaccharide fraction has a weight ratio citrate:monosaccharide of less than 0.01.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the clean umami fraction comprises by weight of dry matter: 6-75% glutamate; 0-10% 5′-AMP; 1-25% aspartate; 0-20% citrate; 0-10% monosaccharides; 0.1-15% sucrose; and wherein the weight ratio glutamate:citrate exceeds 2 and wherein glutamate, 5′-AMP, aspartate and pyroglutamate together represent at least 15% by weight of the dry matter contained in the tomato isolate.

Assignees

• Conopco Inc
• Conopco Inc

Inventors

• Mavroudis Nikolaos
• Mazzotti Marco Giuseppe
• Suijker Michael Jacobus

Classifications

• A23L23/00

  Soups; Sauces (soya sauce A23L27/50; salad dressings, mayonnaise or ketchup A23L27/60); Preparation or treatment thereof · CPC title

• A23L27/88

  Taste or flavour enhancing agents · CPC title

• A23L27/21

  containing amino acids · CPC title

• A23L27/22

  containing glutamic acids · CPC title

• A23V2002/00

  Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs · CPC title