Flavor compounds are important indicators of food quality: they not only determine the sensory and technological properties of food, but also serve as indicators of its spoilage and effects on our health. Health effects are discussed above all for plants like herbs and spices. However, identification of biologically active constituents and verification of their effect size, considering dietary intakes and toxicity is often limited by in vitro screening models not fully resembling in vivo conditions. Ideally, when demonstrating mechanisms involved in potential health effects in vitro, all processes of absorption, transport, metabolic conversion, excretion, and toxicological aspects should be considered. A combination of cell culture studies keeping many of these factors in mind, and addressing mechanisms involved in the health outcome may provide adequate data to justify human intervention studies for the proof of effect. Here we present results of a 7-year research program aimed at establishing in vitro cell culture models to reveal mechanistic data that support the initiation of human intervention studies for demonstrating the satiating or appetite stimulating effects of flavor-active plant constituents. With this approach, we identified nonivamide, a less pungent capsaicin analogue present in chili pepper, as well as cinnamylisobutyrate, a cinnamon constituent, as satiating aroma compounds (1-3), whereas homoeriodictyol, a bitter-masking compound from Eriodictyon californicum, was identified as appetite stimulant (4). For bitter-tasting food constituents, i.e. the amino acid L-arginine, an appetite-reducing effect was demonstrated (5), very likely mediated by bitter taste sensing chemoreceptors localized in the oral cavity and stomach (6). The work presented here provides a review of cell models suitable for the identification of satiating and/or appetite stimulating plant constituents, in particular of flavor-active compounds which might help to maintain a healthy body weight.

In vitro models for the identification of plant constituents helping to control food intake

ACS Fall 2021

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