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Qin Y, Zhou Y, Yan X, Qin Z, Mao Y, Tian S. Establishment of a new cell-based assay to quantitatively evaluate the sweetness of sugar and sugar alcohol. Food Chem 2024; 434:137436. [PMID: 37742552 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Sweetness is a crucial indicator for identifying sweeteners used for flavor regulation and nutritional matching of foods. This study established a new quantitative sweetness evaluation method based on a combination of transiently transfected sweet taste receptor cells (STRs) and human sensory evaluation. Here, nine different sweeteners were evaluated and 10 sensory difference intensities and their corresponding concentrations were obtained through sensory evaluation. Using the same concentration solution as in the sensory evaluation, the dosage-response curve and EC50 of the nine sweeteners were obtained by analyzing the intracellular calcium signal fluctuation of STRs. Data analysis revealed that the calcium signal intensity and sweetness intensity under the same concentration of sweetener presented a strong linear correlation (R2 > 0.9). Additionally, we found a favorable correlation (R2 = 0.8746) between the relative sweetness and EC50. These findings indicate that the quantitative evaluation of sweetness based on STRs could be a potential alternative to human sensory evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yumei Qin
- School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China; Food Safety Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Yufei Zhou
- School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Xue Yan
- Zhejiang Guangsha Vocational and Technical University of Construction, Jinhua 32210, China
| | - Zihan Qin
- School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Yuezhong Mao
- School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China; Food Safety Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Shiyi Tian
- School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China; Food Safety Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
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2
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Risso D, DunnGalvin G, Saxena S, Doolan A, Spence L, Karnik K. Gastrointestinal tolerance of D-allulose in children: an acute, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. Food Funct 2024; 15:411-418. [PMID: 38099623 DOI: 10.1039/d3fo04210c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
D-Allulose, a low-calorie sugar, provides an attractive alternative to added sugars in food and beverage products. There is however limited data on its gastrointestinal (GI) tolerance, with only two studies in adults, and no studies in children to date. We therefore performed an acute, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross over study designed to determine, for the first time, the GI tolerance of 2 doses of D-allulose (2.5 g per 120 ml and 4.3 g per 120 ml) in young children. The primary tolerance endpoint was the difference in the number of participants experiencing at least one stool that met a Type 6 or Type 7 description on the Bristol Stool Chart, within 24 hours after study product intake. Secondary endpoints included the assessment of stool frequency, stool consistency, and the presence of GI symptoms. Only one participant in the low dose group experienced a stool type 6 or 7, while no participants experienced a stool type 6 or 7 in the high dose group. A statistically significant difference in the change in stool frequency compared to placebo in the high dose group (p = 0.044) was found, with no significant difference between the groups for stool consistency and no participants experienced unusual stool frequency. All the encountered adverse events were non-serious, either mild or moderate, and there were no serious adverse events. All in all, D-allulose was tolerated well in children, making this ingredient a good candidate to reformulate commercially produced goods by replacing added sugars with lower caloric content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Risso
- Tate & Lyle PLC, 5 Marble Arch, W1H 7EJ, London, UK.
| | | | - Sameer Saxena
- Atlantia Food Clinical Trials, Heron House, Blackpool, Cork, Ireland
| | - Andrea Doolan
- Atlantia Food Clinical Trials, Heron House, Blackpool, Cork, Ireland
| | - Lisa Spence
- School of Public Health, Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Kavita Karnik
- Tate & Lyle PLC, 5 Marble Arch, W1H 7EJ, London, UK.
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Deng JL, Tang MJ, Su XX, Ye YT, Wei JY, Chen ZX, Qin YM. Rapid Kinetic Interactions of Sugar and Sugar Alcohol with Sweet Taste Receptors on Live Cells Using Stopped-Flow Spectroscopy. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2023; 71:14731-14741. [PMID: 37773006 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c05144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
The subjective measurement of the dynamic perception of sweetness is a problem in food science. Herein, the rapid interactions of sugars and sugar alcohols with sweet taste receptors on living cells on a millisecond timescale were studied via stopped-flow fluorescence spectroscopy. According to the rapid-kinetic parameters, sweeteners were divided into two groups. Sweeteners in group I disrupted the hydrogen bond network structure of water, and the apparent rate constant (kobs) was in the range of 0.45-0.6 s-1. Sweeteners in group II promoted the hydrogen bond formation of water, and the kobs was mostly in the range of 0.6-0.75 s-1. For most sweeteners, the kobs of cell responses was negatively correlated with the apparent specific volume of sweeteners. The differences in the cellular responses may be attributed to the disturbance in the water structure. Experimental results showed that the kinetic parameters of sweet cell responses reflected the dynamic perception of sweetness. Rapid kinetics, solution thermodynamic analysis, and water structure analysis enriched the physicochemical study of the sweetness mechanism and can be used to objectively evaluate the dynamic perception of sweetness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun-Ling Deng
- Molecular Food Science Laboratory, College of Food & Biology Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Meng-Jie Tang
- Molecular Food Science Laboratory, College of Food & Biology Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Su
- Molecular Food Science Laboratory, College of Food & Biology Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
- COFCO Nutrition and Health Research Institute Co., Ltd., Beijing 102209, China
| | - Yu-Tong Ye
- Molecular Food Science Laboratory, College of Food & Biology Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Jie-Ying Wei
- Molecular Food Science Laboratory, College of Food & Biology Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Zhong-Xiu Chen
- Molecular Food Science Laboratory, College of Food & Biology Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Yu-Mei Qin
- Molecular Food Science Laboratory, College of Food & Biology Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
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Nicholas Chua B, Mei Guo W, Teng Wong H, Siak-Wei Ow D, Leng Ho P, Koh W, Koay A, Tian Wong F. A sweeter future: Using protein language models for exploring sweeter brazzein homologs. Food Chem 2023; 426:136580. [PMID: 37331142 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
With growing concerns over the health impact of sugar, brazzein offers a viable alternative due to its sweetness, thermostability, and low risk profile. Here, we demonstrated the ability of protein language models to design new brazzein homologs with improved thermostability and potentially higher sweetness, resulting in new diverse optimized amino acid sequences that improve structural and functional features beyond what conventional methods could achieve. This innovative approach resulted in the identification of unexpected mutations, thereby generating new possibilities for protein engineering. To facilitate the characterization of the brazzein mutants, a simplified procedure was developed for expressing and analyzing related proteins. This process involved an efficient purification method using Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis), a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) bacterium, as well as taste receptor assays to evaluate sweetness. The study successfully demonstrated the potential of computational design in producing a more heat-resistant and potentially more palatable brazzein variant, V23.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Nicholas Chua
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, #07-06, Proteos, Singapore 138673, Republic of Singapore
| | - Wei Mei Guo
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #02-01, Nanos, Singapore 138669, Republic of Singapore
| | - Han Teng Wong
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, #07-06, Proteos, Singapore 138673, Republic of Singapore
| | - Dave Siak-Wei Ow
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 20 Biopolis Way, #06-01, Centros, Singapore 138668, Republic of Singapore
| | - Pooi Leng Ho
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 20 Biopolis Way, #06-01, Centros, Singapore 138668, Republic of Singapore
| | - Winston Koh
- Institute of Bioengineering and Bioimaging (IBB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #07-01, Nanos, Singapore 138669, Republic of Singapore; Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, Singapore 138671, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Ann Koay
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 31 Biopolis Way, #02-01, Nanos, Singapore 138669, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Fong Tian Wong
- Molecular Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, #07-06, Proteos, Singapore 138673, Republic of Singapore; Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE(2)), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 8 Biomedical Grove, Neuros, #07-01, Singapore 138665, Republic of Singapore.
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Consumers Respond Positively to the Sensory, Health, and Sustainability Benefits of the Rare Sugar Allulose in Yogurt Formulations. Foods 2022; 11:foods11223718. [PMID: 36429310 PMCID: PMC9689152 DOI: 10.3390/foods11223718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Increased added sugar consumption is associated with type II diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. Low and no-calorie alternative sweeteners have long been used as an aid in the reduction of added sugar. Unfortunately, these alternative sweeteners often have notable sensory deficits when compared to sucrose. Furthermore, many alternative sweeteners have synthetic origins, while consumers are increasingly turning to foods from natural origins, and from more sustainable sources. Such sweeteners include the rare sugar allulose, which can be manufactured from common agricultural waste and dairy co-product streams, and is reported to have a sensory profile similar to sucrose. This study aimed to determine the influence of the rare sugar allulose on consumer perception of sweetened vanilla yogurt. Participants were recruited to evaluate 4 vanilla yogurts sweetened with either sucrose, allulose, stevia or sucralose, and to rate their liking of the samples overall, and for flavor, texture, and their purchase intent. Statistical analysis of hedonic data from 100 consumers suggested that allulose performed similarly to sucrose in liking and purchase intent, and superior to other sweeteners tested in this study, with fewer off-flavors. Moreover, when consumers were queried on their purchase intent after learning details on the sweetener for each formulation, allulose scored significantly higher than all other formulations in purchase intent. This study highlights the potential of the rare sugar allulose as a low calorie, zero glycemic index, natural and better tasting sugar replacement in sweetened yogurt.
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Yang Y, Xu M, Wan Z, Yang X. Novel functional properties and applications of steviol glycosides in foods. Curr Opin Food Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cofs.2021.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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