Sweet-Tasting Ionic Conjugates of Local Anesthetics and Vasoconstrictors

Local anesthetics are widely utilized in dentistry, cosmetology, and medicine. Local anesthesia is essential to providing a pain-free experience during dental and local surgeries as well as cosmetic procedures. However, the injection itself may produce discomfort and be a source of aversion. A novel approach toward the taste modulation of local anesthetics is proposed, in which the anesthetics of the “-caine” family serve as cations and are coupled with anionic sweeteners such as saccharinate and acesulfamate. Ionic conjugates of vasoconstrictor epinephrine such as epinephrine saccharinate and epinephrine acesulfamate have also been synthesized. Novel ionic conjugates were developed using anion exchange techniques. Reported compounds are sweet-tasting and are safe to use both topically and as injections.

Dihydrochalcone Glycosides From Balanophora harlandii

Dihydrochalcone class of compounds displays good performance in taste modulation on several natural non-caloric/low-caloric sweeteners. Compounds such as hesperetin dihydrochalcone (HDC) and hesperetin dihydrochalcone-4′- O-β-d-glucoside (HDCG) were reported to be found in nature. However, the evidence was not complete to support their natural presence. The Coca-Cola Company has been working on the identification of natural sources of reported dihydrochalcones, as well as the exploration of new natural dihydrochalcones. During the investigation on plant Balanophora harlandii, the natural presence of HDCG was confirmed, and 3 new analogs have been identified. In this paper, detailed structural elucidation of known HDCG and 3 new analogs have been described.

Perception of Bitter Taste through Time-Intensity Measurements as Influenced by Taste Modulation Compounds in Steviol Glycoside Sweetened Beverages

To limit sugar consumption and maintain sweetness levels in the diet, food and beverage developers often use high potency sweeteners (HPSs) as alternatives. Steviol glycosides are considered a consumer-friendly alternative but they are perceived to have a bitter taste accompanied by sweet and bitter lingering. Recently, taste modulators have been discovered that help to alleviate negative attributes like bitterness of HPSs. To show that taste modulation compounds (TMCs) decrease perceived bitterness associated with steviol glycosides, a trained descriptive panel (n = 9) performed a single-attribute time-intensity (TI) assessment over 2 min. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze TI curves and curve parameters (AUC, Imax and Tmax). Principal components analysis (PCA) was also used to assess TI curves. Results showed that statistically significant results depended on the analysis method. Bitterness perception was shown to persist less over 2 min for steviol glycosides with TMCs when assessing raw scores and parameters. The same was not found using differences from control curves or weighted curves from PCA. These findings demonstrate that particular TMCs may subtly decrease perceived bitterness of steviol glycosides. However, business objectives of TMC use may dictate what kind of analysis method to use when analyzing perceived bitter perception of TMCs over time.

Emerging roles of the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor in nutrient sensing: control of taste modulation and intestinal hormone secretion

The extracellular Ca-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a sensor for a number of key nutrients within the body, including Ca ions (Ca2+) and l-amino acids. The CaSR is expressed in a number of specialised cells within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and much work has been done to examine CaSR's role as a nutrient sensor in this system. This review article examines two emerging roles for the CaSR within the GI tract – as a mediator of kokumi taste modulation in taste cells and as a regulator of dietary hormone release in response to l-amino acids in the intestine.