Increasing consumer demand for natural low-calorie sweetners, with no organoleptic drawbacks compared to sucrose, necessitates organoleptic studies on diterpenic glycosides of Stevia rebaudiana. For this purpose, we correlated in vivo data obtained from human psychophysical experiments with in vitro data from cell-based taste receptor assays on the most common steviol glycosides. While sensory evaluation clearly demonstrated the structural features causing the sweet and bitter taste of these phytochemicals, comprehensive screening experiments with human bitter taste receptors indicated their sensitivity to hTAS2R4 and hTAS2R14. Interestingly, for some analytes, we observed a decline in their sweet intensity at supra-maximum concentrations. This effect did not arise from allosteric modulation of the hTAS1R2/R3 sweet taste receptor but might be explained by a cross-modal suppressing effect of the associated intrinsic bitter taste.

Psychophysical and cell-based taste receptor studies on the sweet and bitter taste of steviol glycosides from <i>Stevia Rebaudiana</i> (Bert.) Bertoni

245th National Meeting (2013)

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Psychophysical and cell-based taste receptor studies on the sweet and bitter taste of steviol glycosides from Stevia Rebaudiana (Bert.) Bertoni