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Correlation between in vitro binding activity of sweeteners to cloned human sweet taste receptor and sensory evaluation

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Abstract

The human sweet taste receptor is a TAS1R2/TAS1R3 heterodimer. To investigate the correlation between the in vitro affinity of sweeteners with stably expressed human sweet taste receptor in HEK-293 cells and human sensory evaluation, the receptor-ligand activity of bulk (sucrose, D-fructose, and allulose) and high-intensity sweeteners (saccharin, rebaudioside A, rebaudioside M, and neohesperidin dihydrochalcone) was compared by analyzing the Ca2+ release. The relative potency of the sweeteners was identified over a wide concentration range for EC50s. Relative to sucrose, bulk sweeteners showed similar concentration ranges and potency, whereas high-intensity sweeteners exhibited lower concentration ranges and higher potency. The log of the calculated EC50 of each sweetener relative to sucrose by the in vitro affinity assay was positively correlated (r = 0.9943) with the molar relative sweetness reported in the previous literatures. These results suggested a good correlation between the in vitro activity assay of sweeteners and human sensory evaluation.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) (2017R1A2B4011593), the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture, and Forestry (IPET) through Innovative Food Product and Natural Food Materials Development Program, funded by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) (119020-03-2-HD040), and Brain Korea 21 Plus (Project Number: 22A20130012143).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutritional Science and Food Management, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea

    Yoonha Choi & Yuri Kim

  2. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Horticultural Research Lab, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 2001 South Rock Road, Fort Pierce, FL34945, USA

    John A. Manthey

  3. Interdisciplinary Program for Bioengineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea

    Tai Hyun Park & Yeon Kyung Cha

  4. School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea

    Tai Hyun Park

  5. Center for Food & Bioconvergence, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea

    Yang Kim

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  1. Yoonha Choi
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Correspondence to Yuri Kim.

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Choi, Y., Manthey, J.A., Park, T.H. et al. Correlation between in vitro binding activity of sweeteners to cloned human sweet taste receptor and sensory evaluation. Food Sci Biotechnol 30, 675–682 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-021-00905-z

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