This study was conducted to investigate the effect of drying time on creatine/creatinine ratios, and subsequently taste of herring fillet. Creatine and creatinine contents were quantified during drying of herring fillet by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) and their effect on sensory perception was determined. Results showed that creatine content decreased significantly (p < 0.05), while creatinine content increased during the drying period. Creatinine/creatine ratio of herring fillet increased significantly (p < 0.05) up to the eighth day of drying and plateaued out thereafter. Sensory evaluation revealed that addition of a mixture of creatine and creatinine (at the ratio between 95:5 and 75:25) to the Japanese noodle soup resulted in optimum flavor enhancement of soup characteristics such as thickness, mouthfulness and continuity. These results suggest that for dried herring fillet, optimum creatinine/creatine ratios are reached after 10 days of drying.Keywords: herring, seafood processing, creatine, creatinine, taste, sensory evaluation *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: azad_shh@yahoo.com † Present address: School of Agriculture and Rural Development, Bangladesh Open University, Gazipur-1705, Bangladesh
IntroductionDried herring (Clupea pallasii) fillet (migaki nishin in Japanese) is highly appreciated as an ingredient in savory dishes due to its flavor enhancing properties. In particular, addition of dried herring fillet to noodle soup enhances flavor characters, such as thickness, mouthfulness, and continuity. These flavor characters are often called kokumi in Japanese. In Japan, processing of herring fillets are usually carried out by drying under controlled conditions. Processors usually sell their products after 10 days of drying. It is thought that this is the period required for herring fillet to obtain its unique taste and flavor. Although, its primary purpose is preservation, drying gives the product a characteristic taste and flavor (Shah et al., 2009a).During the processing of dried herring fillet, a large number of biochemical reactions occur, some of which lead to improved quality and taste. Dried herring fillet contains a large number of compounds of interest including creatine and creatinine. Creatine ( Fig. 1) and its phosphorylated derivative phosphocreatine are key components of the energy delivery process in several tissues. Moreover, creatine plays a vital role in the energy metabolism of skeletal muscle, providing the necessary energy for vigorous muscle contraction (Wyss and Kaddurah-Daouk, 2000). In contrast, in the muscle tissue, creatine is converted into creatinine (Fig. 1) non-enzymatically by intramolecular dehydration. This nonenzymatic conversion takes place easily under heating conditions such as meat cooking (del Campo et al., 1998) and heat increases the reaction rate (Wyss and Kaddurah-Daouk, Materials Herring (Clupea pallasii), captured at the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, in October 2009 was obtained from a fishery processing c...