Reduction of sodium content in spicy soups using monosodium glutamate

BACKGROUND Excessive dietary sodium intake causes several diseases, such as hypertension, cardiovascular and renal disease, etc. Hence, reducing sodium intake has been highly recommended. In this study the effect of monosodium glutamate (MSG), as an umami substance, on saltiness and sodium reduction was investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS The trained panellists were presented with basic spicy soups (curry chicken and chili chicken) containing different amounts of sodium chloride (NaCl) (0-1.2%) and MSG (0-1.2%). They tasted the optimum concentrations of NaCl and MSG for the two spicy soups and the overall acceptability were 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. There was no significant effect of spiciness level on the saltiness and umami taste of both soups. The optimum levels of combined NaCl and MSG for overall acceptance in the chili and curry soups were 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively. The results showed that with the addition of MSG, it is possible to reduce sodium intake without changing the overall acceptability of the spicy soup. A 32.5% reduction in sodium level is made feasible by adding 0.7% MSG to the spicy soups. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that low-sodium soups can be developed by the addition of appropriate amounts of MSG, while maintaining the acceptability of the spicy soups. It was also proven that it is feasible to reduce sodium intake by replacing NaCl with MSG.