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- Title
The discovery and mechanism of sweet taste enhancers.
- Authors
Xiaodong Li; Servant, Guy; Tachdjian, Catherine
- Abstract
Excess sugar intake posts several health problems. Artificial sweeteners have been used for years to reduce dietary sugar content, but they are not ideal substitutes for sugar owing to their off-taste. A new strategy focused on allosteric modulation of the sweet taste receptor led to identification of sweet taste 'enhancers' for the first time. The enhancer molecules do not taste sweet, but greatly potentiate the sweet taste of sucrose and sucralose selectively. Following a similar mechanism as the natural umami taste enhancers, the sweet enhancer molecules cooperatively bind with the sweeteners to the Venus flytrap domain of the human sweet taste receptor and stabilize the active conformation. Now that the approach has proven successful, enhancers for other sweeteners and details of the molecular mechanism for the enhancement are being actively pursued.
- Subjects
SUGAR; VENUS'S flytrap; NONNUTRITIVE sweeteners; FOOD additives; MOLECULES; ARTIFICIAL foods; ALLOSTERIC regulation; SUCROSE; TASTE buds
- Publication
Biomolecular Concepts, 2011, Vol 2, Issue 4, p327
- ISSN
1868-5021
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1515/BMC.2011.021