Metabolism, application in the food industry, and enrichment strategies of gamma-aminobutyric acid

Background

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid with multiple physiological functions and health benefits that occurs naturally in various organisms. GABA has a broad application prospect in food industry.

Scope and approach

The metabolism and application in food preservation and processing of GABA, as well as processing methods for increasing its content were reviewed.

Key findings and conclusions

GABA metabolism is involved in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and can affect energy and substance metabolism. GABA has shown a positive role in food preservation, particularly in alleviating the cold damage, browning, softening, senescence and oxidative damage of food, and improving pathogen resistance and nutritional quality. This is mainly due to the self-decomposition of exogenous GABA and the synthesis and decomposition of endogenous GABA activated by exogenous GABA, which regulate the complex metabolic activities of food via the TCA cycle. GABA as a food constituent enables the development of functional foods with health benefits. Additionally, the appropriate dose of GABA can also improve the functional properties of proteins, thus positively impacting on physicochemical properties of foods, which can facilitate the development of functional food formulations. Germination treatments, microbial fermentation, and innovative physical processing technologies are the most popular methods for increasing GABA levels in foods. Microbial fermentation can enrich GABA in foods that do not contain it. Innovative physical processing technologies can enhance not only the synthesis of GABA, but also the levels of other nutrients. The combination of different processing methods is the trend of GABA enrichment.