ABSTRACT

Background

Sodium chloride intake far exceeds guidelines by health and regulatory agencies. Acknowledging the positive relationship between sodium intake and blood pressure, interest in substances which assist in sodium reduction while contributing a savory taste such as umami are highly investigated.

Objective

The objective of this scoping review was to identify and characterize studies investigating umami tastants on sodium reduction in food with the goal of informing future research.

Methods

A literature search was conducted in Medline, Embase, Cochrane Database, EBSCO PsycInfo, PROSPERO, NIH Reporter, Clinical Trials.gov and WHO Trials and completed in March 2022 to identify peer-reviewed publications among adults (≥ 18 years) with interventions focusing on umami tastants to reduce sodium content.

Results

The literature search identified 52 studies among which mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) was the most studied umami tastant or food. Further, the majority of research on umami was represented through cross-sectional sensory studies to determine acceptability of foods with part of the original sodium chloride replaced by umami tastants. Only one study investigated the use of an umami tastant on overall daily sodium intake.

Conclusions

To assist individuals in adhering to sodium reduction intake goals set forth by regulatory agencies and their guiding policies, these findings indicate that additional research on umami tastants including systematic reviews and prospective trials is warranted. In these prospective studies, both intermediate outcomes (dietary pattern changes, daily dietary intake of sodium, and blood pressure) and hard outcomes (incidence of hypertension or stroke as well as cardiovascular composite outcomes) should be considered.