| abstract |
Taste-improving agents which are basic neutral salts of citric acid and a basic amino acid reacting with citric acid to yield an essentially tasteless salt and preferably selected from the group consisting of arginine, lysine and ornithine. These basic neutral salts are tasteless in themselves but have the capability of when associated in small amounts with any of a broad variety of foods of modifying the taste characteristics of food in enhancing saltiness, reducing bitterness and ofttimes reducing sourness, increasing sweetness or the sensation of sweetness, increasing Umami and improving neutral salt taste. They are free of sodium and hence especially suitable for sodium-restricted diets by elevating the perception of saltiness in a sodium-free manner and without increasing bitterness. They can also be combined with pharmaceuticals or drugs intended for oral administration to counteract an unpleasant taste. |