Methionine Metabolism: Major Pathways and Enzymes Involved and Strategies for Control and Diversification of Volatile Sulfur Compounds in Cheese

Abstract

For economical reasons and to accommodate current market trends, cheese manufacturers and product developers are increasingly interested in controlling cheese flavor formation and developing new flavors. Due to their low detection threshold and diversity, volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) are of prime importance in the overall flavor of cheese and make a significant contribution to their typical flavors. Thus, the control of VSCs formation offers considerable potential for industrial applications. This paper gives an overview of the main VSCs found in cheese, along with the major pathways and key enzymes leading to the formation of methanethiol from methionine, which is subsequently converted into other sulfur-bearing compounds. As these compounds arise primarily from methionine, the metabolism of this amino acid and its regulation is presented. Attention is focused in the enzymatic potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that are widely used as starter and adjunct cultures in cheese-making. In view of industrial applications, different strategies such as the enhancement of the abilities of LAB to produce high amounts and diversity of VSCs are highlighted as the principal future research trend.

Keywords :

• Volatile sulfur compounds
• methanethiol
• methionine
• lactic acid bacteria
• cheese aroma control

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación for the Projects AGL2009-13361-C02-02, Intramural-200770I005 (CSIC-I3), and Consolider Ingenio 2010 FUN-C-FOOD CSD2007-00063, and the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid for the Project ALIBIRD P2009/AGR-1469. M.C. Martínez-Cuesta was also awarded with a FEMS Research for Young Scientist and a Marina Bueno-Royal Society Fellowships.