Quantitative detection of umami substances using FT-IR spectroscopy and wavelength optimization

Authors

  • Habib Baraka Omar 1. College of Engineering, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
  • Yijian Wang 1. College of Engineering, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
  • Niu Xiaohu 1. College of Engineering, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
  • Sheng Zhang 1. College of Engineering, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
  • Guifeng Jia 1. College of Engineering, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China 2. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment in Mid-lower Yangtze River, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan 430070, China 3. Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Facilities Engineering, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan 430070, China
  • Ming Zhu 1. College of Engineering, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China 2. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment in Mid-lower Yangtze River, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan 430070, China 3. Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Facilities Engineering, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan 430070, China
  • Yaoze Feng 1. College of Engineering, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China 2. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment in Mid-lower Yangtze River, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan 430070, China 3. Key Laboratory of Aquaculture Facilities Engineering, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan 430070, China 4. Interdisciplinary Sciences Institute, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China 5. Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Shenzhen 518000, China 6. Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
  • Douglas Fernandes Barbin 7 School of Food Engineering, University of Campinas – Unicamp, Brazil

Abstract

Umami is one of the five basic tastes, primarily represented by monosodium glutamate (MSG) and disodium 5′-inosinate (IMP). The current primary methods for detecting MSG and IMP are expensive and complex, limiting their widespread applications. Hence, there is a need to explore novel and more affordable methods to characterize umami taste substances. FT-IR was used to detect umami substances, MSG, and its mixture with IMP. Uniform spectral spacing method (USS) was combined separately with a continuous projection algorithm (SPA), competitive adaptive weighting algorithm (CARS), and uninformed variable elimination method (UVE) to simplify partial least squares regression (PLSR) and principal component regression (PCR) prediction models. The results demonstrated that the optimal model for MSG solution detection was the USS-CARS-PCR quantitative simplified model based on 17 feature wavelengths with =0.97, =0.23 g/L,  =0.96, and =0.27 g/L. For MSG and IMP mixture detection, the optimal model was the full wavelength model with =0.97, =0.11 g/L, =0.98, and =0.07 g/L. These findings indicate the feasibility of using FT-IR spectroscopy for rapid and quantitative detection of umami substances, providing a theoretical basis for detecting complex umami substances in food using FT-IR technology.      

Keywords: disodium 5′-inosinate (IMP), FT-IR; monosodium glutamate (MSG), umami, wavelength selection

DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20261901.9932

Citation: Omar H B, Wang Y J, Niu X H, Zhang S, Jia G F, Zhu M, et al. Quantitative detection of umami substances using FT-IR spectroscopy and wavelength optimization. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2026; 19(1): 263–269.

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Published

2026-03-16

How to Cite

(1)
Omar, H. B.; Wang, Y.; Xiaohu, N.; Zhang, S.; Jia, G.; Zhu, M.; Feng, Y.; Barbin, D. F. Quantitative Detection of Umami Substances Using FT-IR Spectroscopy and Wavelength Optimization. Int J Agric & Biol Eng 2026, 19.

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 1 (2026): IJABE

Section

Agro-product and Food Processing Systems

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