Prediction of sweetness potency from sweet taste receptor dose-response curves.
Poster presentation
People pay attention to their diet, especially sugar intake. The food industry faces the challenge to reduce sugar in food and using low-calorie sweeteners that are healthy, sustainable, and also provide the expected sweet taste quality and intensity.
This study aimed at characterizing sweeteners' intensity by two different methods: (i) an in vitro method based on a cellular assay and (ii) an in vivo method based on a psychophysical approach. Sweet taste is mediated by a single heterodimeric TAS1R2/TAS1R3 receptor that recognizes a wide variety of sweet-tasting compounds including natural sugars, synthetic and natural sweeteners. Following the in vitro method, the functional activity of the sweet taste receptor was measured for a series of sweeteners by calcium assay after the expression of TAS1R2/TAS1R3 in heterologous HEK293 cells. In the in vivo approach, the sweet taste intensity of the same sweeteners was rated by a panel (n=21-28) of highly trained subjects (18-65 y.o.) using a dedicated ratio scale anchored with 6 sucrose solution references. Natural sugars (sucrose, lactose, fructose), alternative sweetener (fructo-oligosaccharides), high-intensity natural (rebaudioside A and M), and synthetic (sodium cyclamate, sucralose, and acesulfame K) sweeteners were tested. For each sweetener, dose-response curves from both in vitro and in vivo approaches were modeled by non-linear regression using R software. From these curves, the half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) was estimated for both methods. A regression model was applied to the relationship between in vitro EC50 and the sweetness potency (SP) of the sweeteners (r=0.93, p<0.001). A solution of sucrose 3% was selected as a reference for SP since it corresponds to the in vitro sucrose EC50. The regression model was validated using external data obtained for brazzein. Therefore, the model can predict SP based on in vitro testing and can be used to rapidly screen existing or new sweetener candidates.
This study aimed at characterizing sweeteners' intensity by two different methods: (i) an in vitro method based on a cellular assay and (ii) an in vivo method based on a psychophysical approach. Sweet taste is mediated by a single heterodimeric TAS1R2/TAS1R3 receptor that recognizes a wide variety of sweet-tasting compounds including natural sugars, synthetic and natural sweeteners. Following the in vitro method, the functional activity of the sweet taste receptor was measured for a series of sweeteners by calcium assay after the expression of TAS1R2/TAS1R3 in heterologous HEK293 cells. In the in vivo approach, the sweet taste intensity of the same sweeteners was rated by a panel (n=21-28) of highly trained subjects (18-65 y.o.) using a dedicated ratio scale anchored with 6 sucrose solution references. Natural sugars (sucrose, lactose, fructose), alternative sweetener (fructo-oligosaccharides), high-intensity natural (rebaudioside A and M), and synthetic (sodium cyclamate, sucralose, and acesulfame K) sweeteners were tested. For each sweetener, dose-response curves from both in vitro and in vivo approaches were modeled by non-linear regression using R software. From these curves, the half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) was estimated for both methods. A regression model was applied to the relationship between in vitro EC50 and the sweetness potency (SP) of the sweeteners (r=0.93, p<0.001). A solution of sucrose 3% was selected as a reference for SP since it corresponds to the in vitro sucrose EC50. The regression model was validated using external data obtained for brazzein. Therefore, the model can predict SP based on in vitro testing and can be used to rapidly screen existing or new sweetener candidates.