Role of water in sweet taste chemoreception

Abstract

Abstract:The mechanistic understanding of sweet taste chemoreception has been advanced by the microscopic and macroscopic studies of sweetener-water interactions. This approach has led to the concept of water mobility as a key to interpreting sweetness. The apparent specific volume of a solution is a determinant of its taste quality, as sweetness is known to be confined to the range 0.51-0.71 cm 3 g -1 . Thus, the "ideal" quality of the sugars is presumed to be due to their occupancy of the center of this range (i.e., 0.618 cm 3 g -1 ). Most sweeteners elicit off-tastes and flavors and exhibit different apparent specific volumes. This leads to the conclusion that taste quality is broadly determined by the packing characteristics of sweet molecules among water molecules and the compactness of their hydration shells, expressed as their apparent specific isentropic compressibilities. The role of water can, therefore, be applied in modern attempts to optimize sweet taste quality, and different food salts can be explored as useful taste modifiers. Salts interact more strongly with water structure than do any other taste solutes, and it emerges that the ionic charge density is an important criterion. Such studies show how sweetener formulations are likely to improve within the next decade.

Caffeine dimerization: effects of sugar, salts, and water structure

“…The data in Fig. G (m) cw can be calculated straightaway from V (m) c from the literature, 21 through eqn (7). G (m) cw can be calculated straightaway from V (m) c from the literature, 21 through eqn (7).…”

Volumetric and UV absorption studies on understanding the solvation behavior of polyhydroxy solutes in l-ascorbic acid(aq) solutions at T=(288.15 to 318.15)K

“…The microscopic and macroscopic studies (particularly apparent massic volumes) of sweetner-water interactions are useful to understand sweet taste chemoreception (Aroulmoji, Mathlouthi, Feruglio, Murano, & Grassi, 2012;Birch, 2002;Birch, Karim, Chavez, & Morini, 1993;Birch & Parke, 1997;Birch, Parke, Siertsema, & Westwell, 1996). The solvation characteristics of polyhydroxy compounds are key feature to understand their structural and functional properties, as well as their mechanism of taste chemoreception.…”

Volumetric and ultrasonic properties of ternary (sucrose + water + protic ionic liquid) solutions

“…An understanding of interaction of a solute with water and its packing within the structure of water has been studied in aqueous [33][34] and mixed aqueous solutions [22][23][35][36]in order to evaluate the effect of these interactions on taste behaviour of a solute. Further, the packing efficiency of a solute can be determined by the apparent molar volume and apparent molar isentropic compression.…”