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Background: Evidence has demonstrated that excess sodium intake is associated with development of several non-communicable diseases. The main source of sodium is salt. Therefore, reducing salt intake in foods is an important global public health effort to achieve sodium reduction and improve health. This study aimed to model salt intake reduction with 'umami' substances among Japanese adults. The umami substances considered in this study include glutamate or monosodium glutamates (MSG), calcium diglutamate (CDG), inosinate, and guanylate. Methods: A total of 21,805 participants aged 57.8 years on average from the National Health and Nutrition Survey was used in the analysis. First, we employed a multivariable linear regression approach with overall salt intake (g/day) as a dependent variable, adjusting for food items and other covariates to estimate the contribution of salt intake from each food item that was selected through an extensive literature review. Assuming the participants already consume low-sodium products, we considered three scenarios in which salt intake could be reduced with the additional umami substances up to 30%, 60% and 100%. We estimated the total amount of population-level salt reduction for each scenario by age and gender. Under the 100% scenario, the Japan's achievement rates against the national and global salt intake reduction goals were also calculated. Results: Without compromising the taste, the 100% or universal incorporation of umami substances into food items reduced the salt intake of Japanese adults by 12.8–22.3% at the population-level average, which is equivalent to 1.27–2.22 g of salt reduction. The universal incorporation of umami substances into food items changed daily mean salt intake of the total population from 9.95 g to 7.73 g: 10.83 g to 8.40 g for men and 9.21 g to 7.17 g for women, respectively. This study suggested that approximately 60% of Japanese adults could achieve the national dietary goal of 8 g/day, while only 7.6% would meet the global recommendation of 5.0 g/day. Conclusions: Our study provides essential information on the potential salt reduction with umami substances. The universal incorporation of umami substances into food items would enable the Japanese to achieve the national dietary goal. However, the reduced salt intake level still falls short of the global dietary recommendation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Although there are many studies on the umami receptor and its signaling pathway, literature on the effect of umami taste acuity on dietary choices in healthy subjects is limited. The current study aims to clarify the relationship between umami taste acuity with sweet or bitter taste acuity, food preference and intake.Methods and Study Design: Forty-two healthy Japanese female university students were enrolled. The acuity for umami, sweet, and bitter tastes was evaluated using the filter-paper disc method. The study population was divided into 32 umami normal tasters and 10 hypo-tasters based on the taste acuity at the posterior part of the tongue using monosodium glutamate.Results: Umami hypo-tasters exhibited a significantly lower sensitivity to sweet tastes than normal tasters. However, the sensitivity to bitter taste was comparable between the two groups. Food preference was examined by the food preference checklist consisted of 81 food items. Among them, umami tasters preferred shellfish, tomato, carrot, milk, low fat milk, cheese, dried shiitake, and kombu significantly more than umami hypo-tasters did. A self-reported food frequency questionnaire revealed no significant differences in the intake of calories and three macronutrients between the two groups; however, umami tasters were found to eat more seaweeds and less sugar than umami hypo-tasters.Conclusions: These data together may indicate the possibility that umami taste acuity has an effect on a dietary life. Therefore, training umami taste acuity from early childhood is important for a healthy diet later in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan, the Tokyo-172 strain of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination is used and an instrument containing nine short needles is required for multi-puncture vaccination.[1] Checking for Koch's phenomenon[2] has been implemented in place of the tuberculin skin test to determine whether an infant has a latent or present tuberculosis infection. Physicians requested the parents to take photos and revisit the clinic if a local reaction was recognized within 7 days after administration of BCG vaccination; needle lesions expected after effective BCG inoculation appear approximately 10 days after injection. [Extracted from the article]

There is a pressing need for the development of ways of preparing palatable salt-reduced foods to reduce the salt intake of the Japanese population. The salt-reducing effect of the characteristic flavors other than umami of dried bonito stock, which is widely used in everyday Japanese food, was examined by sensory evaluation. In the 1st sensory evaluation, the effect was evaluated in a model solution. The saltiness of 0.80% NaCl solution was equivalent to that of 0.12% monosodium glutamate (MSG) solution containing 0.81% NaCl and dried bonito stock containing 0.68% NaCl. Saltiness enhancement could not be found when MSG solution was used, but was found with 6% dried bonito stock. The 2nd evaluation examined whether the effect was valid for 2 everyday Japanese foods—traditional Japanese clear soup ( sumashi-jiru) and steamed egg custard ( tamagodoufu). Although enhancement of saltiness by dried bonito stock could not be clearly demonstrated in the soup, a change in NaCl concentration within 15% did not affect the palatability of the soup. However, dried bonito stock not only enhanced the saltiness but also improved the palatability of steamed egg custard. These findings are expected to be useful for improving the palatability of salt-reduced food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history on how monosodium glutamate (MSG) was first embraced and how it came to be vilified. The MSG has its root in Japan when chemist Ikeda Kikunae isolated an ingredient in sea kelp that give flavor to the Japanese broth konbu dashi. Then, Ikeda brought the powdered substance to iodine manufacturer Suzuki Sabur‾. The MSG was marketed under the brand name Ajinomoto.