Novel Brothy Taste Modifier Isolated from Beef Broth

The essential components which impart the favorable “brothy taste” as the characteristic flavor of beef bouillon were investigated. Broth prepared from beef was performed successively by dialysis, electrodialysis, gel filtration chromatography, chelate affinity chromatography, and carbon partition chromatography, and finally three fractions which gave the “brothy taste” were obtained. Among these, one fraction, A8, contained the component responsible for this taste in highest purity. Structural analysis was carried out using FAB-MS and various NMR methods, and the main compound of A8 was thus elucidated to be the novel compound N-(1-methyl-4-hydroxy-3-imidazolin-2,2-ylidene)alanine. Keywords: Beef; extract; sour; brothy; taste; amino acid derivative