idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Nachrichten, Termine, Experten

Grafik: idw-Logo
Science Video Project
idw-Abo

idw-News App:

AppStore

Google Play Store



Instanz:
Teilen: 
23.01.2023 10:53

Chicory, surrogate and roasted coffee provide new insights into mechanisms of taste perception

Dr. Gisela Olias Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Leibniz-Institut für Lebensmittel-Systembiologie

    The composition of foodstuffs, but also the sequence of dishes, is important for the perfect taste experience of a menu. This insight, based on experience, is well known. The molecular causes of the pleasure-enhancing effects, on the other hand, are still poorly understood. Using the example of chicory, surrogate and roasted coffee, a study by the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich (LSB) now explains for the first time why the order in which we eat food can be decisive for bitter taste perception and what role bitter taste receptors play in this process.

    Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a popular salad ingredient, and its bitterness harmonizes well with apples or balsamic vinegar. The roasted and ground bitter roots of the plant, on the other hand, contribute to the flavor similarity to roasted coffee in many coffee substitutes. The reason for this, however, is not clear. To investigate this question and learn more about the molecular basis of taste perception, the research team led by Maik Behrens, head of the Taste & Odor Systems Reception group at LSB, conducted extensive experiments.

    Three bitter taste receptor types identified for chicory

    The experiments focused on the three main known bitter substances present in chicory and chicory root-containing surrogate coffee. To determine which human bitter taste receptor types they activate, the team used an established cellular assay system.

    As the test results show for the first time, the chicory bitter compounds activate only three of the approximately 25 bitter taste receptor types. However, these belong to the group of five receptor types identified to date that respond to bitter substances in roasted coffee. "Chicory bitter compounds thus exhibit a receptor activation profile that overlaps with those of the roasted coffee compounds tested to date and appear to mimic the bitterness of roasted coffee well. However, the profiles are not completely identical," says Tatjana Lang of the LSB, who was substantially involved in the study.

    It's the sequence that counts

    To check the extent to which the similarities and differences in the receptor activation profiles affect taste perception, the team also conducted sensory tests. If the test subjects evaluated roasted coffee shortly before eating chicory or drinking a coffee substitute, both foods tasted significantly less bitter than before. Conversely, consumption of chicory or surrogate coffee did not affect the perceived bitterness of a subsequently tasted roasted coffee.

    "Our results suggest that the bitter substances of roasted coffee briefly make all three bitter taste receptor types that respond to chicory compounds less sensitive to the latter. Conversely, this debittering effect does not work, as presumably the chicory bitter substances are not able to desensitize all receptor types that detect bitter compounds in roasted coffee," explains Roman Lang, who heads the Biosystems Chemistry & Human Metabolism group at LSB.

    "Ultimately, our results suggest that precise knowledge of the receptor activation profiles of bitter compounds could in principle be used to predict or positively modulate the taste perception of foods," adds principal investigator Maik Behrens. "Moreover, it can be assumed that such effects are not limited to the perception of bitter substances. Therefore, there is still much to be explored to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying complex taste sensations."

    Publication: Lang, R., Lang, T., Dunkel, A., Ziegler, F., and Behrens, M. (2022). Overlapping activation patterns of bitter taste receptors affect sensory adaptation and food perception. Frontiers. 10.3389/fnut.2022.1082698. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.1082698/full

    More information:

    Human bitter taste receptor types for roasted coffee

    The bitter taste receptor types identified to date that respond to bitter compounds in roasted coffee are TAS2R7, TAS2R10, TAS2R14, TAS2R43, and TAS2R46. To date, the bitter taste receptor activation profiles are known for five of the bitter substances present in roasted coffee. This includes caffeine, which activates all five receptor types mentioned. In total, there are at least four substance classes to which more than a dozen of other roasted coffee bitter substances can be assigned.

    Characterized chicory bitter compounds

    The taste-relevant bitter compounds characterized by the research team in chicory and chicory root-containing coffee substitutes are the well-known sesquiterpene lactones lactucin, lactucopicrin and 11β,13-dihydrolactucin. Lactucopicrin in particular activated the bitter taste receptor types TAS2R14, TAS2R43, and TAS2R46 even at very low concentrations. None of the three substances is naturally present in roasted coffee.

    Coffee substitutes

    According to Janda et al. (10.3390/molecules26061814), the use of chicory roots to produce coffee substitutes dates back to as early as the 16th century. Since coffee was an absolute luxury drink in Europe for a long time, coffee substitutes that mimicked the taste of roasted coffee, including its bitterness, provided an affordable alternative for the general population. Today, they still enjoy great popularity, especially among health-conscious consumers, although there is also growing evidence of the health-promoting effects of moderate coffee consumption and roasted coffee is now affordable for many.

    Contact:

    Scientific contact at LSB:

    PD Dr. Maik Behrens
    Head of the research group
    Taste & Odor Systems Reception
    Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology
    at the Technical University of Munich (LSB)
    Lise-Meitner-Str. 34
    85354 Freising
    Phone: +49 8161 71-2987
    E-mail: m.behrens.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de

    Dr. Roman Lang
    Head of the research group
    Biosystems Chemistry & Human Metabolism
    Phone: +49 8161 71-2978
    E-mail: r.lang.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de

    Tatjana Lang
    Research group Taste & Odor Systems Reception
    Phone: +49 8161 71-2725
    E-mail: t.lang.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de

    Press Contact at LSB:

    Dr. Gisela Olias
    Knowledge Transfer, Press and Public Relations
    Phone: +49 8161 71-2980
    E-mail: g.olias.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de
    www.leibniz-lsb.de

    Information about the Leibniz Institute:

    The Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich (LSB) comprises a new, unique research profile at the interface of Food Chemistry & Biology, Chemosensors & Technology, and Bioinformatics & Machine Learning. As this profile has grown far beyond the previous core discipline of classical food chemistry, the institute spearheads the development of a food systems biology. Its aim is to develop new approaches for the sustainable production of sufficient quantities of food whose biologically active effector molecule profiles are geared to health and nutritional needs, but also to the sensory preferences of consumers. To do so, the institute explores the complex networks of sensorically relevant effector molecules along the entire food production chain with a focus on making their effects systemically understandable and predictable in the long term.

    The LSB is a member of the Leibniz Association, which connects 97 independent research institutions. Their orientation ranges from the natural sciences, engineering and environmental sciences through economics, spatial and social sciences to the humanities. Leibniz Institutes devote themselves to social, economic and ecological issues. They conduct knowledge-oriented and application-oriented research, also in the overlapping Leibniz research networks, are or maintain scientific infrastructures and offer research-based services. The Leibniz Association focuses on knowledge transfer, especially with the Leibniz Research Museums. It advises and informs politics, science, business and the public. Leibniz institutions maintain close cooperation with universities - among others, in the form of the Leibniz Science Campuses, industry and other partners in Germany and abroad. They are subject to a transparent and independent review process. Due to their national significance, the federal government and the federal states jointly fund the institutes of the Leibniz Association. The Leibniz Institutes employ around 21,000 people, including almost 12,000 scientists. The entire budget of all the institutes is more than two billion euros.

    +++ Stay up to date via our Twitter channel twitter.com/LeibnizLSB +++


    Wissenschaftliche Ansprechpartner:

    PD Dr. Maik Behrens
    Head of the research group
    Taste & Odor Systems Reception
    Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology
    at the Technical University of Munich (LSB)
    Lise-Meitner-Str. 34
    85354 Freising
    Phone: +49 8161 71-2987
    E-mail: m.behrens.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de

    Dr. Roman Lang
    Head of the research group
    Biosystems Chemistry & Human Metabolism
    Phone: +49 8161 71-2978
    E-mail: r.lang.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de

    Tatjana Lang
    Research group Taste & Odor Systems Reception
    Phone: +49 8161 71-2725
    E-mail: t.lang.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de


    Originalpublikation:

    Lang, R., Lang, T., Dunkel, A., Ziegler, F., and Behrens, M. (2022). Overlapping activation patterns of bitter taste receptors affect sensory adaptation and food perception. Frontiers. 10.3389/fnut.2022.1082698.
    https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.1082698/full


    Weitere Informationen:

    https://www.leibniz-lsb.de/en/press-public-relations/translate-to-englisch-press... Latest findings on bitter substances in coffee--Why caffeine is not the sole contributor to bitterness


    Bilder

    Chicory and roasted coffee contain different bitter substances
    Chicory and roasted coffee contain different bitter substances
    Dr. Gisela Olias
    LSB


    Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
    Journalisten, Wirtschaftsvertreter, Wissenschaftler
    Biologie, Chemie, Ernährung / Gesundheit / Pflege, Tier / Land / Forst, Wirtschaft
    überregional
    Forschungsergebnisse, Wissenschaftliche Publikationen
    Englisch


     

    Chicory and roasted coffee contain different bitter substances


    Zum Download

    x

    Hilfe

    Die Suche / Erweiterte Suche im idw-Archiv
    Verknüpfungen

    Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.

    Klammern

    Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).

    Wortgruppen

    Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.

    Auswahlkriterien

    Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).

    Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).