An explanation for the natural de-bittering of Hurma olives during ripening on the tree

Harvested olives require further processing to make them edible due to their content in the bitter substance oleuropein. However, some olives of the Erkence cultivar naturally de-bitter on the tree giving rise to the so-called Hurma olives. In this study, the evolution of the chemical characteristics of Erkence and Hurma olives harvested from the northeast and southwest area of trees located in the Karaburun Peninsula was assayed. It was confirmed that the oleuropein content in Hurma olives was much lower (< 2000 mg/kg fresh weight) than Erkence, which reached 35.000 mg/kg fresh weight at the beginning of the season. In addition, no free or polymerized anthocyanins were found in Hurma fruit in contrast to ripened Erkence fruit. The concentration of glucose was also lower in Hurma than Erkence olives. These results suggest that the enzymatic oxidation of oleuropein could be responsible for the natural de-bittering of Hurma olives during their ripening on the tree.

Concealing the taste of the Guinness World's most bitter substance by using a synthetic nanocontainer

The bitterness of the world's bitterest substance was dramatically concealed by using a synthetic nanocontainer, demonstrating its significant taste-masking potential.

A NOVEL BITTER DETECTION BIOSENSOR BASED ON LIGHT ADDRESSABLE POTENTIOMETRIC SENSOR

This paper presents a novel biosensor for bitter substance detection on the basis of light addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS). Taste receptor cells (TRCs) were used as sensitive elements, which can respond to different bitter stimuli with extreme high sensitivity and specificity. TRCs were isolated from the taste buds of rats and cultured on the surface of LAPS chip. Due to the unique advantages such as single-cell recording, light addressable capability, and noninvasiveness, LAPS chip was used as secondary transducer to monitor the responses of TRCs by recording extracelluar potential changes. The results indicate LAPS chip can effectively record the responses of TRCs to different bitter substances used in this study in a real-time manner for a long-term. In addition, by performing principal component analysis on the LAPS recording data, different bitter substances tested can be successfully discriminated. It is suggested this TRCs–LAPS hybrid biosensor could be a valuable tool for bitter substance detection. With further improvement and novel design, it has great potentials to be applied in both basic research and practical applications related to bitter taste detection.

Effect of ethanol on interactions of bitter and sweet tastes in aqueous solutions

Experimental samples simulated the composition of vermouths. In all experiments, 0.01% quinine was used as a standard bitter substance. Sucrose increased the acceptability in the concentration range of up to 14%, remaining constant at higher concentrations, both in aqueous and 16% ethanolic solutions. A decrease of bitterness was observed in water but not in 16% ethanol. Ethanol did not affect the sweetness appreciably at the concentrations of up to 16%, but 32% ethanolic solutions appeared less sweet. Ethanol enhanced the bitterness only at high concentrations; interactions were similar in the samples containing 10% and 16% sucrose. Aspartame and Neotame sweetness increased the acceptability and decreased the bitterness similarly to sucrose, both in aqueous and in 16% ethanolic solutions.

Analyzing Aversiveness of Denatonium Saccharide and Quinine in Rats

Denatonium saccharide is reported to be the most bitter substance currently known. Two experiments comparing the suppressive capabilities of this compound and the more common bitter, quinine, are presented. Analysis indicated that rats preferred to consume denatonium rather than quinine when afforded a choice between the two. Exp. 2 also indicated that the pairing of quinine with vanilla and almond flavors resulted in subsequent refusal of these flavors. Pairing flavors with denatonium did not produce comparable refusals. Caution is expressed with regard to the use of denatonium saccharide as a rodent repellent.