Structural functions of taste in the sugar series: Binding characteristics of disaccharides

Abstract

The previous finding that only one half of a disaccharide molecule binds to the taste receptor site is fully substantiated but the linkage and the sugar residues of the disaccharide are important. The study is extended to the field of bitterness and it is observed that binding on to the bitter receptor is analogous to that on to the sweet receptor. With reducing disaccharides, it is the non-reducing glycosyl unit that binds to the taste bud protein. Therefore, oligosaccharides constitute ideal models for this study despite their free anomeric centres.

Gustatory Reaction Time and Time Intensity Measurements of Trehalose and Sucrose Solutions and Their Mixtures

“…According to Guirao (1980) there is a positive correlation between absolute threshold values and β: the higher the threshold of a given substance, the bigger the value of β. This suggestion agrees with the experimental fact that trehalose has a much bigger threshold value than sucrose (1.5 g/100 mL for trehalose and 0.65 g/100 mL for sucrose; Lee and Birch 1975).…”

“…1, trehalose at 2.3% solution has a relatively large standard deviation as compared to other data. This may be attributed to the fact that 2.3% is close to threshold concentration of trehalose (Lee and Birch 1975).…”

Trehalose: Current Use and Future Applications

“…279 No definitive explanation for the difference in perceived sweetness is given; however, the difference in the binding capability of the sweet taste receptor for the two sugars has been put forth as a possible explanation (due to the differences in size of the sugar-associated water cluster and structural configuration). [279][280][281] Furthermore, in a panel study, the perceived sweetness of trehalose was determined to increase faster relative to sucrose, and 85% of the tested subjects preferred the taste of trehalose compared with sucrose. 7 Besides confectionary products, trehalose is present in beverages, processed vegetables and fruits, baked goods, processed seafood, frozen food products, and refrigerated items.…”

Sweet taste and solution properties of α,α‐trehalose

“…a,a-Trehalose is a non-reducing disaccharide, a poor stimulus compared with sucrose, and is no more effective than its reducing counterparts. a,a-Trehalose is a dimer of glucose and it has been admitted, as a general characteristic (Lee and Birch 1975) that disaccharides (probably with the exception of sucrose) are less sweet than their parent monosaccharides. According to these same authors, in a,a-trehalose, only one of the glucose residues is involved in the binding to the taste receptors, the other being excluded, presumably due to steric hindrance involving the subtituents at position C-1 of the glycopyranose ring (Lee and Birch 1975).…”

“…a,a-Trehalose is a dimer of glucose and it has been admitted, as a general characteristic (Lee and Birch 1975) that disaccharides (probably with the exception of sucrose) are less sweet than their parent monosaccharides. According to these same authors, in a,a-trehalose, only one of the glucose residues is involved in the binding to the taste receptors, the other being excluded, presumably due to steric hindrance involving the subtituents at position C-1 of the glycopyranose ring (Lee and Birch 1975). For accession to site, macroscopic and physicochemical results (Mathlouthi et al 1993) suggest that there is an optimal volume corresponding to a certain packing of water molecules around sweet molecules.…”