Taste Perception of Nutrients Found in Nutritional Supplements: A Review

Abstract

Nutritional supplements are prescribed when one’s nutritional status is not conducive to good health. These foodstuffs constitute concentrated sources of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids. For nutritional supplements to be effective, patients must consume the amount that has been prescribed for the recommended period of time. Therefore, special attention must be given to the sensory attributes of these products. Indeed, the presence of active compounds can cause an off-taste or aftertaste. These negative sensations can lead to a reduction in the consumption of nutritional supplements and reduce the effectiveness of the treatment. In this manuscript, we provide an overview of the sensory characteristics and the sensing receptor mechanism of the main compounds present in oral nutritional supplements, such as amino acids, minerals, fatty acids, and vitamins. Part of this article is devoted to the development of new masking strategies and the corresponding potential influence at the industrial level.

Amino acids, betaines and related ammonium compounds in Neapolitan limmo, a Mediterranean sweet lime, also known as lemoncetta Locrese

“…This is because the taste of limmo has been associated, from the organoleptic point of view, with the dominant presence of malic acid, prevalent with respect to citric acid, and of rutinose tasteless flavoinoids, such as eriocitrin, hesperidin and narirutin, 8 and with the absence of neohesperidose flavonoids, notoriously bitter 26, 27 . Free amino acids not only represent important analytical parameters for the characterization and authenticity of citrus juices 28 but also constitute the chemicals that contribute to the overall taste properties 29‐35 …”

Characterizing the Dynamic Taste and Retro-Nasal Aroma Properties of Oral Nutritional Supplements Using Temporal Dominance of Sensation and Temporal Check-All-That-Apply Methods

“…However, in the case of ODTs, the main bitter compounds are minerals and vitamins. Taking into account their concentration in the products ( Table 1 ) and their threshold values [ 10 ], the bitterness was likely caused by the presence of minerals that are hydrophilic. Thus, they should have been easily extracted in the mouth at the beginning of the OFD.…”

“…The trajectory PCA indicated that the end of product tasting was characterized by an increase in the dominance or citation rate of the bitter attribute. This sensory perception has been linked with the presence of active compounds with bitter potential such as vitamins and minerals [ 10 ]. This sensory attribute is generally inversely correlated with the increase in other taste and aromatic attributes, which limit its perception during most of the OFD.…”

“…Today, ODTs represent a large proportion of nutritional supplements available on the pharmaceutical market and are the preferred forms for oral nutritional supplement administration. Many nutrients present in these ODTs such as vitamins, minerals, or certain amino acids are known to be at the origin of negative perceptual sensations such as bitterness or astringency [ 10 ]. As ODTs disintegrate in a patient’s mouth, these active compounds are in direct contact with the taste detection system and often exhibit bad taste such as bitterness and an unpleasant aftertaste.…”

In Silico Molecular Study of Tryptophan Bitterness

“…The bitter taste of tryptophan can lead to a reduction in the consumption of tryptophan-based nutritional supplements [ 7 ]. To gain from their effect, patients must consume the prescribed amount of supplements for the recommended time, but sensory characteristics strongly affect the patients’ acceptability and the correct assumption of nutritional supplements [ 8 ].…”