Glutathione transferases (GSTs) are ubiquitous key enzymes with different activities as transferases or isomerases. As key detoxifying enzymes, GSTs are expressed in the chemosensory organs. They fulfill an essential protective role because the chemosensory organs are located in the main entry paths of exogenous compounds within the body. In addition to this protective function, they modulate the perception process by metabolizing exogenous molecules, including tastants and odorants. Chemosensory detection involves the interaction of chemosensory molecules with receptors. GST contributes to signal termination by metabolizing these molecules. By reducing the concentration of chemosensory molecules before receptor binding, GST modulates receptor activation and, therefore, the perception of these molecules. The balance of chemoperception by GSTs has been shown in insects as well as in mammals, although their chemosensory systems are not evolutionarily connected. This review will provide knowledge supporting the involvement of GSTs in chemoperception, describing their localization in these systems as well as their enzymatic capacity toward odorants, sapid molecules, and pheromones in insects and mammals. Their different roles in chemosensory organs will be discussed in light of the evolutionary advantage of the coupling of the detoxification system and chemosensory system through GSTs.

The sensory perception of food is a complex phenomenon involving the integration of different stimuli (aroma, taste, trigeminal sensations, texture and visual). Flavor compounds activate odorant, taste and trigeminal chemoreceptors, generating a depolarization of the sensory neurons and then the consciousness of food flavor perception. Recent studies are increasingly highlighting the importance of perireceptor events, which include all the molecular events surrounding the receptors, in the modulation of flavor perception. These events affect the quantity and quality of flavor compounds in the environment of chemoreceptors. They include the metabolization of flavor compounds by enzymes present in biological fluids (saliva and mucus) and the oronasal epithelia and noncovalent interactions with binding proteins. Perireceptor mechanisms have been extensively studied in insects and mammals, demonstrating the importance of the entailed processes in the termination of the chemical signal. In humans, research is in full swing. Here, we reviewed the perireceptor mechanisms recently reported in vitro, in biological fluids and in cells and in vivo in humans. These studies indicate that perireceptor mechanisms likely have an important contribution to flavor perception. This mini-review focuses on recent pioneering studies that are paving the way for this new research area. It also suggests that new approaches taking into account the real conditions of food consumption will be required in the future to accurately address this question.

This paper examines the problem of food security in the Republic of Kazakhstan over the past 10 years. Based on statistical data, an assessment was made of the prevalence of malnutrition among the population of the country, including children under 5 years of age. There has been a trend towards for an improvement in the nutrition of the population for a few indicators; however, further optimization of food security indicators is required to achieve the goals of sustainable development (SDGs) of the FAO WHO Agenda for the period up to 2050 in Kazakhstan and in its individual regions. The paper reflects data on demographic changes over the past 10 years and its self-sufficiency in basic foods for 2019. A high degree of self-sufficiency in meat products (117.6%) is revealed in the population of the Republic of Kazakhstan. However, self-sufficiency in dairy products is at an extremely low level (0.1%). Camel breeding has been successfully developing in the country over the past 10 years. However, the number of camels in the country is still at a low level. Camel milk can be considered as a great source of macronutrients, its daily consumption partially facilitates the problem of Food Security in Kazakhstan.

The demand for low- and non-fat products has recently increased due to the health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, that have resulted from high-fat products. However, the reduction in fat can affect the quality of products adversely. The objective of this work was to explore the potential of whey protein isolate (WPI) in improving the quality of non-fat yogurt prepared using skim milk powder (SMP). Yogurt mixes (standardized at 14% total solids) were formulated using SMP as a milk base enriched with WPI. The SMP was replaced by WPI in the yogurt mixes at a rate of 3, 5, 7, and 9%. Full-fat and non-fat set-style yogurts were prepared from whole milk and skim milk, respectively, as controls. Yogurts were fermented at 43 °C to get a pH of 4.6 and stored at 4 °C for the next day. The texture, microstructure, rheological characteristics, and sensory properties of the yogurt samples were studied. The incorporation of WPI increased the water holding capacity to 50% as compared to the non-fat control. This improved the rheological properties while the yogurt viscosity increased in direct proportion with increasing the WPI. The firmness of yogurt was inversely proportional to the increase in WPI, which resulted in 180 g firmness when 9% WPI was added to the non-fat yogurt formulations. Yogurts’ microstructure improved by the addition of WPI. The non-fat yogurt incorporated with 3 and 7% WPI had comparable sensory and textural characteristics to the full-fat yogurt. WPI can be used as a fat replacer to develop low-fat yogurt with desired features. WPI may be a natural and economical ingredient for producing low- and non-fat fermented dairy food products.

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