Higher Taste Research Articles

Motivations to eat are related to diet quality and food intake in overweight and obese, low-income women in early postpartum

Healthful dietary practices and a return to prepregnancy weight are of significant importance in the prevention of obesity for women. The Eating Stimulus Index (ESI) was used to determine the relationship between motivations to eat and diet quality and food intake in 115 overweight/obese, low-income women in early postpartum. In this cross-sectional design, participants completed the ESI and food frequency questionnaire. Diet quality was assessed using the Dietary Guidelines Adherence Index. Diet quality was related to greater fruit and vegetable availability, convenience eating resistance, and vegetable taste preference. Women with high fruit and vegetable availability consumed more vegetables, as compared to those with low availability. High convenience eating resistance was associated with lower discretionary energy intakes. High taste preference for vegetables was related to greater intakes of these foods. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that convenience eating resistance was the strongest predictor of diet quality followed by vegetable taste preference, and fruit and vegetable availability. Convenience eating resistance was also the strongest predictor of discretionary energy intake. In conclusion, women who were less vulnerable to environmental eating cues, had greater fruit and vegetable availability, and preferred the taste of vegetables consumed a more healthful diet. Thus, the ESI may be a useful screening tool for the design of personalized weight loss messages in the treatment of obesity.

Relationships between fatty acids of grain and taste quality of rice and regulating effects of soil moisture

To prove the relationships between the taste quality and fatty acids content of rice grain, fatty acids, protein, amlose contents of five varieties of rice were measured. And soil moisture was regulated at water poteintial of -30 ～ -35 kPa and -60 ～ -65 kPa, then the ingredients and taste value of superior grain, medium grain and inferior grain of two varieties were analyzed. The results show that fatty acids content of "Kenjiandao 5", "Fushiguang" and "DongnongV 10" is significantly higher (P0.01) than that of "Kendao 8" and "Kongyu 131". Also the taste value of "Kongyu 131" is significantly higher than that of "DongnongV 10", "Kenji-andao 5" and "Kendao 8". Furthermore, "Fushiguang", "DongnongV 10" and "Kenjiandao 5" have a significantly higher taste value than "Kendao 8"; and the taste value of "Fushiguang" is significantly higher than that of "DongnongV 10" and "Kenjiandao 5". Taste value is significantly negatively correlated with fatty acids and protein contents (r = -0.577**, -0.910** for 2002; r = -0.845**, -0.980** for 2003). Protein content is in turn significantly positively correlated with fatty acids content (r = 0.582** for 2002; r = 0.866** for 2003). The coefficients of variation for grain ingredients have the following order of fatty acids protein amylose. Fatty acids content of the "Shangyu 397" and "Suijing 3" rice grains at different positions of the panicle are significantly higher (P 0.01) than in the control under different water-control treatments before heading. This is, however not the case for "Suijing 3" under high water-control treatment at tilling stage. During the same growth period under intensive water-control, fatty acids content of the two varieties is higher, but it is not significant. Water-control during filling stage leads to a significantly lower taste value compared with CK. The coefficient of variance for fatty acids is higher than those for protein and amlyose. However, protein path coefficient is the highest among the grain ingredients. In summary therefore, rice grain fatty acid content subject to external influences is highly correlated with taste quality. It then implies that fatty acids study should be part of any grain taste evaluation and nutritional assessments.

Enrichment of gluten-free tarhana with buckwheat flour

Tarhana, a traditional fermented cereal food in Turkey, is mainly prepared with wheat flour and yoghurt. Buckwheat is a major ingredient in the daily diet of the celiac patients due to its gluten-free composition. In this research, gluten-free tarhana samples were prepared with buckwheat flour (BWF), rice flour and corn starch. Control tarhana was made of wheat flour. In gluten-free formulations, instead of wheat flour, 40% BWF, 30% rice flour and 30% corn starch in the first formulation and 60% BWF, 20% rice flour and 20% corn starch in the second formulation were handled. BWF substitution at a 60% level increased the ash and fat contents of tarhana samples, but affected the lightness value of the samples negatively. Potassium, magnesium and phosphorus contents of the gluten-free tarhana increased significantly (P <0.05) with increasing amount of BWF in the formulation. Sensory evaluation showed that BWF addition resulted in changes in consistency, taste, sourness and grittiness. Tarhana containing 40% BWF received the highest taste and overall acceptability scores.

Unfolding the codes of short-term feed appetence in farm and companion animals. A comparative oronasal nutrient sensing biology review

The evolution of the chemical senses has resulted in a sensory apparatus for high taste and smell acuity in mammals and birds to ensure self-nourishment. Such peripheral chemosensory systems function as a code to unfold the nutritional value of feedstuffs. Food ingestion simultaneously evokes odor, taste and thermo-mechanical (somatosensing) sensations. Olfaction represents the capacity to identify feed volatiles that are predominantly derived from essential nutrients in plants. Comparative biology of olfaction shows that primates and chickens have a smaller olfactory epithelium and fewer olfactory receptor (OR) genes than non-primate mammals studied to date including farm and companion animals, such as the pig, the cow, the dog, the cat and the horse. A significant proportion of the total OR genes in mammals and birds have lost their functionality (pseudogenes) in a process that seems to reflect a decrease in the animal’s reliance on the sense of smell, particularly in humans and cows. The taste system allows animals to recognize a diverse repertoire of nutrient (sugars, amino acids, salts, acids and fats) or toxic related chemical entities that provide valuable information about the quality of food. Taste senses non-volatile molecules in the oral cavity through taste receptors (TR). The TR are expressed in the sensory cells forming the taste buds of the tongue’s papillae. Taste cells are linked to a network of solitary chemosensory cells diffused through many non-taste tissues involved in metabolic homeostasis. The number of functional taste receptor genes (TASR) in humans is equivalent to that in other mammals and superior to that in chickens. The TASR family 1 (TAS1R coding for umami and sweet TR) is conserved, in number and type, across the species evaluated, with the exception of the sweet receptor in chicken and feline species. The TASR family 2 (TAS2R coding for bitter TR) shows a strong adaptive capacity to dietary sources and digestive physiology across vertebrates. Pseudogenization (loss of gene functionality) in the TAS2R family seems to be a frequent strategy. The implications of oronasal nutrient sensing related to comparative animal feeding strategies and behaviors such as neophobia, feed refusal and hedonic preferences are discussed. Feed palatability and appetence might be one of the main driving forces in short-term feed consumption. Finally, practical applications relevant to animal production are outlined. Key words: Nutrient sensing, taste, olfaction, somatosensing, feed intake, farm, companion animals

Children's hard-wired aversion to pure vegetable tastes. A ‘failed’ flavour–nutrient learning study

Conditioning is an important mechanism for establishing food preferences. Although the basic principles for conditioning are well-known, less is known about the conditions under which this type of learning takes place. This paper aims to add to the knowledge of the essential conditions for flavour–nutrient learning with vegetable flavours. We describe a study which aimed to investigate whether flavour–nutrient learning is effective in increasing 7–8-year-old children's preference for vegetables. Their preference for, and consumption of, two different vegetable drinks was measured before and after a 14-day-conditioning period, using a within-subject design. Flavour–nutrient learning could not occur, due to insufficient consumption during the conditioning period: 2.4 g (S.D. = 5.6) for the high energy (HE) drink and 3.0 g (S.D. = 9.3) for the low energy (LE) drink. The high taste intensity may have caused the insufficient consumption. We hypothesize that the pure taste of vegetables in itself is not acceptable. Mixing vegetables with other foods may lead to gradual acceptance of vegetables through flavour–flavour and flavour–nutrient learning. Future flavour–nutrient learning studies with children should use less intense vegetable flavours.

Effects of pomegranate sauce on quality of marinated anchovy during refrigerated storage

Effects of pomegranate sauce on the quality of marinated anchovy during storage at 4 °C were investigated. Anchovy were marinated with 30 g/L acetic acid and 150 g/L salt, put into glass jars, filled with either sunflower oil or pomegranate sauce and stored at 4 °C. Total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and trimethylamine (TMA-N) values increased during the storage. Higher values for free fatty acid (FFA), conjugated diens (k-dien) and para-anisidine ( p-Av) were found in samples with sunflower oil than those with pomegranate sauce. Samples in pomegranate sauce showed better oxidative stability. Higher taste and flavour and lower appearance scores were found for samples in pomegranate sauce than those samples in sunflower oil. It was found that pomegranate sauce was as least effective as the traditional sunflower oil to keep quality. Pomegranate sauce also produced desirable taste and flavour but the coloration should be studied in further studies.

Optimal Income Taxation of Married Couples: An Empirical Analysis of Joint and Individual Taxation

In this paper we develop a discrete model of optimal taxation of married couples and empirically discuss the optimality of income taxation for this group. To this end, we derive the social welfare function which guarantees that joint taxation of married couples is optimal. We will contrast this welfare function with the one that makes a system of individual taxation optimal. For the empirical application we use a static structural labor supply model to estimate the preferences of households. We find that the system of joint taxation is only optimal when the government has a high taste for redistribution towards one-earner couples and a very low or even negative taste for redistribution towards couples in which both partners earn a similar amount of income. In contrast, the optimality of individual taxation is less dependent of the working composition within the household.

Optimal Income Taxation of Married Couples: An Empirical Analysis of Joint and Individual Taxation

In this paper we develop a discrete model of optimal taxation of married couples and empirically discuss the optimality of income taxation for this group. To this end, we derive the social welfare function which guarantees that joint taxation of married couples is optimal. We will contrast this welfare function with the one that makes a system of individual taxation optimal. For the empirical application we use a static structural labor supply model to estimate the preferences of households. We find that the system of joint taxation is only optimal when the government has a high taste for redistribution towards one-earner couples and a very low or even negative taste for redistribution towards couples in which both partners earn a similar amount of income. In contrast, the optimality of individual taxation is less dependent of the working composition within the household.

Taste acuity of obese adolescents and changes in food neophobia and food preferences during a weight reduction session

The relationship between taste acuity and food neophobia, food familiarity and liking has been studied in the context of a residential weight reduction session (WRS; mean duration: 10 months) in 39 obese adolescents. Taste acuity was assessed using recognition thresholds for sucrose, citric acid, sodium chloride and 6- n propylthiouracil (PROP) and supra-threshold perceived intensities for sucrose, sodium chloride and PROP. Food neophobia was assessed by using the food neophobia scale at the beginning and at the end of the WRS. At these time points we used also a food familiarity and liking questionnaire to assess changes in food familiarity and likes or dislikes for different food categories. Taste acuity appeared to mediate behavioural food-related changes during the WRS. High taste acuity was associated with limited reductions in food neophobia; less sensitive subjects showed greater increases in the acceptability of healthy foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Therefore, taste perception (and particularly PROP perception) appears to be a predictor of the magnitude of food-related behavioural change achieved during a WRS.

The impact of irrigation on the yield and tuber fraction distribution of potato cultivars

Potato is one of the most important plants in human nutrition, it is grown in about 140 countries. As a food, it can be prepared in many ways, it is easily digestable with proteins of high biological value, favourable dietetical-physiological characteristics, high starch content and good taste. An increase in its consumption would be favourable from the dietetical point of view. In Hungary, the growing area of potato has decreased considerably for the last decades and we are lagging behind the Western-European countries regarding yield. The experiments were carried out at the Experimental Site of the University of Debrecen at Látókép between 2002 and 2004. In the large-plot experiment, the yields and the distribution of the tuber fractions were studied for 9 medium early cultivars. The experiment was set up on 50 m2 plots on calcareous chernozem soil. Among the studied cultivars, 3 were of Dutch (Desiree, Kondor, Kuroda) and 6 were of Hungarian breeding ('Góliát', 'Hópehely', 'Kankan', 'Lilla', 'Százszorszép', and 'White Lady'). The experiment was set up in 4 repetitions in a randomized design, two of the repetitions were irrigated while two were non-irrigated.

The Sweet Taste of Losing One's Inhibition

Although sodium saccharin (Na-saccharin) is used as a sweetener, high concentrations taste mostly bitter--especially with consecutive exposures. Rinsing the bitter taste from your mouth leads to a sort of taste "after-image," so that the water tastes sweet, in what is referred to as a sweet "water-taste." Galindo-Cuspinera et al. found that, when mixed with sweet substances, various compounds that elicit sweet water-tastes, including lactisole, MgSO 4 , high concentrations of Na-saccharin, and acesulfame-K, inhibited sweetness. Sweeteners that do not elicit a sweet water-taste, such as Na-cyclamate, did not inhibit the sweetness of other sweet substances. Using calcium imaging to monitor the responses of human embryonic kidney cells transfected with the heteromeric human sweet taste receptor hTAS1R2-hTAS1R3, the authors found that responses to increasing concentrations of Na-saccharin or acesulfame-K peaked and declined in a manner that paralleled the loss of sweetness perceived by human tasters. Similarly, single-cell calcium imaging revealed that high concentrations of Na-saccharin inhibited the response to other sweeteners and that both Na-saccharin and acesulfame-K produced an off-response when rinsed from the cells (that is, the receptors were stimulated when the ligand was removed; this is analogous to the perceptual sweet water-taste). The authors interpret these data in terms of a two-state allosteric model for the sweetness receptor, with substances such as Na-saccharin or acesulfame-K binding to a high-affinity activating site at low concentrations and binding to a lower affinity site that shifts receptor equilibrium toward an inactive conformation at higher concentrations. In this model, rinsing leads to the preferential loss of these substances from the low-affinity inhibitory site and thus to a rebound perception of sweetness. V. Galindo-Cuspinera, M. Winnig, B. Bufe, W. Meyerhof, P. A. S. Breslin, A TAS1R receptor-based explanation of sweet "water-taste." Nature 441 , 354-357 (2006). [PubMed]

The Effect of Taste and Palatability on Lingual Swallowing Pressure

There is evidence that a strong, unpalatable, sour bolus improves swallowing in neurogenic dysphagia. It is not known whether other tastes may alter swallowing physiology. This study investigated the effect of moderate versus high taste concentrations (sweet, sour, salty, bitter) and barium taste samples on lingual swallowing pressure in ten healthy young adults, using a three-bulb lingual pressure array secured to the hard palate. Palatability of the samples was analyzed using the nine-point hedonic scale. Results showed that moderate sucrose, high salt, and high citric acid elicited significantly higher lingual swallowing pressures compared with the pressures generated by water. Pressures in the anterior bulb were significantly higher than those recorded from the middle or posterior bulb. There was no significant effect of palatability on lingual swallowing pressures. High salt and citric acid are known to elicit chemesthesis mediated by the trigeminal nerve. These results suggest that chemesthesis may play a crucial role in swallowing physiology. If true, dysphagia diet recommendations that include trigeminal irritants such as carbonation may be beneficial to individuals with dysphagia. However, before this recommendation more research is needed to examine how food properties and their perception affect swallowing in individuals with and without dysphagia.

THE INFLUENCE OF HARVEST MATURITY AND STORAGE TEMPERATURE ON QUALITY AND POSTHARVEST LIFE OF ´SEMSORY´ MUSKMELON FRUIT

Fruit of Semsory muskmelon (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus) harvested at mature green stage or at first stages of yellow color development on fruit skin were stored at 2.5°C or at 5.5°C with 85-90% RH for 33 days followed by one day at 20°C. Both factors, storage temperature and fruit maturity at harvest, significantly affected fruit attributes. Fruit harvested at first stages of yellow color development of skin and stored at 2.5°C had high sugar content, good taste and flavor and high marketability value in comparison to fruit harvested at mature green stage and stored at 5.5°C. Fruit harvested at mature green stage and kept at 2.5°C were firmer, but had not good flavor and marketability value because they had low sugar content and yellow color of skin. Yellow skin color development and flesh taste and flavor improvement in fruit harvested at first stages of yellow color development during the storage period was the reason for high marketability value for these fruits, but since these quality improvements did not take place in mature green fruit they were not marketable. No chilling injury was observed at 2.5°C.

Consumption of High Fat Foods Influences Taste Preferences

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if frequent consumption of high fat foods would influence the acceptance of a fat modified food. Subjects (N = 80) completed a questionnaire to determine frequency of use of 15 high fat and 15 low fat foods and reasons for their use. Subjects were divided into frequent and infrequent consumers of high fat foods and asked to rate the acceptability of a low and high fat version of a casserole using a nine-point hedonic scale. There were no significant differences in acceptability scores between the infrequent and frequent consumers of high fat foods when evaluating the low fat casserole (6.9 ± 1.5 vs. 7.0 ± 1.1). However, the frequent consumers rated the overall acceptability of the high fat casserole significantly higher than the infrequent customers (7.4 ± 1.0 vs. 6.8 ± 1.6, P = 0.03). As health conscious individuals eat fewer high fat foods and more low fat foods, taste preferences for fat may change.

Technological, chemical, sensory, and microbiological examination of frozen chicken as affected by microwave thawing

The effect of microwave heating as a thawing method on physical, chemical sensory, and microbiological properties of frozen chicken was investigated in comparison with other thawing methods (at ambient temperature, in refrigerator, and in running tap water). Microwave thawed chicken had the highest taste panel scores and the lowest drip percentage loss compared with the other thawing methods. Thiobarbituric acid value (TBA) remarkably increased the samples thawed at ambient temperature or under running water. The data revealed that the retention of thiamin was the highest in the microwave thawed samples (97.33%), and the lowest in running water thawed samples (66.66%). The total bacterial count in frozen chicken remarkably decreased as a result of microwave thawing treatment while increased in the other treatments.

Structural and sensory characterization of compounds contributing to the bitter off-taste of carrots (Daucus carota L.) and carrot puree.

Sequential application of solvent extraction, gel permeation chromatography, and HPLC in combination with taste dilution analyses revealed that not a sole compound but a multiplicity of bitter tastants contribute to the bitter off-taste of cold-stored carrots and commercial carrot puree, respectively. Among these bitter compounds, 3-methyl-6-methoxy-8-hydroxy-3,4-dihydroisocoumarin (6-methoxymellein), 5-hydroxy-7-methoxy-2-methylchromone (eugenin), 2,4,5-trimethoxybenzaldehyde (gazarin), (Z)-heptadeca-1,9-diene-4,6-diin-3,8-diol (falcarindiol), (Z)-heptadeca-1,9-diene-4,6-diin-3-ol (falcarinol), and (Z)-3-acetoxy-heptadeca-1,9-diene-4,6-diin-8-ol (falcarindiol 3-acetate) could be identified on the basis of MS as well as 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments. Due to the low concentrations of <0.1 mg/kg and the high taste thresholds found for eugenin and gazarin, these compounds could be unequivocally excluded as important contributors to the bitter taste of carrots. Calculation of bitter activity values as the ratio of their concentration to their bitter detection threshold clearly demonstrated that neither in fresh and stored carrots nor in commercial carrot puree did 6-methoxymellein contribute to the bitter off-taste. In contrast, the concentrations of falcarindiol in stored carrots and, even more pronounced, in carrot puree were found to be 9- and 13-fold above its low bitter detection concentration of 0.04 mmol/kg, thus demonstrating that this acetylenic diol significantly contributes to the bitter taste of the carrot products investigated.

Sensory activity, chemical structure, and synthesis of Maillard generated bitter-tasting 1-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indolizinium-6-olates.

Thermal treatment of aqueous solutions of xylose, rhamnose, and l-alanine led to a rapid development of a bitter taste of the reaction mixture. To characterize the key compounds causing this bitter taste, the recently developed taste dilution analysis (TDA), which is based on the determination of the taste threshold of reaction products in serial dilutions of HPLC fractions, was performed to locate the most intense taste compounds in the complex mixture of Maillard reaction products. By application of this TDA, 26 fractions were obtained, among which seven fractions were evaluated with a high taste impact. LC/MS and NMR spectroscopy as well as synthetic experiments revealed the 1-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indolizinium-6-olates 1-5 as the key compounds contributing the most to the intense bitter taste of the Maillard mixture. Calculation of the taste impact of these compounds based on a dose/activity relationship indicated that these five compounds already accounted for 56.8% of the overall bitterness of the Maillard mixture, thus demonstrating this class of 1-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indolizinium-6-olates as the key bitter compounds. First synthetic studies on the relationship between the chemical structure and the human psychobiological activity of 1-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indolizinium-6-olates revealed that substitution of the furan rings of 1 by 5-methylfuryl moieties (compounds 3-5) or by 5-(hydroxymethyl)furyl groups (compound 6) led to a significant increase of the bitter threshold. In contrast, the substitution of the oxygen atoms in the furan rings of 1 by sulfur atoms induced a significant decrease of the detection threshold of the 1-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indolizinium-6-olate; for example, the thiophene derivative 7 showed the extraordinarily low bitter detection threshold of 6.3 x 10(-5) mmol/kg (water).

Determination and gustatory properties of taste-active compounds in tomato juice

The water-soluble compounds of a tomato juice selected for its high taste intensity and quality, have been investigated by both physico-chemical and sensory analyses. The physico-chemical assessment of the crude juice led to the construction of a synthetic model juice. Although 97% of the material contained in the crude juice has been identified and quantified, significant sensory differences between the crude and model juice have been found concerning bitterness and sharpness, showing that the components responsible for these gustatory descriptors have not yet been identified in the juice. For the other descriptors: sweetness, saltiness, sourness, umami and astringency, no significant differences were found between these two solutions. Using the model juice, omission tests were performed to explain the three main tastes of the juice: saltiness, sweetness and sourness. Sweetness was mainly attributable to sugars while the non-dissociated and dissociated forms of the organic acids, with potassium as counterion, seemed mainly responsible for sourness and saltiness. Moreover, several masking effects were observed between taste-active components. The contribution of the taste-active compounds to the main tastes were quantified by stepwise multiple linear regressions. The model explained up to 95, 89.9 and 85.8% of sourness, saltiness and sweetness, respectively.

Spatially restricted expression of candidate taste receptors in the Drosophila gustatory system

Background: Taste is an important sensory modality in most animals. In Drosophila, taste is perceived by gustatory neurons located in sensilla distributed on several different appendages throughout the body of the animal. Here we show that the gustatory receptors are encoded by a family of at least 54 genes (Gr genes), most of which are expressed exclusively in a small subset of taste sensilla located in narrowly defined regions of the fly's body.Results: BLAST searches with the predicted amino acid sequences of 6 7-transmembrane-receptor genes of unknown function and 20 previously identified, putative gustatory receptor genes led to the identification of a large gene family comprising at least 54 genes. We investigated the expression of eight genes by using a Gal4 reporter gene assay and found that five of them were expressed in the gustatory system of the fly. Four genes were expressed in 1%–4% of taste sensilla, located in well-defined regions of the proboscis, the legs, or both. The fifth gene was expressed in about 20% of taste sensilla in all major gustatory organs, including the taste bristles on the anterior wing margin. Axon-tracing experiments demonstrated that neurons expressing a given Gr gene project their axons to a spatially restricted domain of the subesophageal ganglion in the fly brain.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that each taste sensillum represents a discrete, functional unit expressing at least one Gr receptor and that most Gr genes are expressed in spatially restricted domains of the gustatory system. These observations imply the potential for high taste discrimination of the Drosophila brain.

Understanding consumer acceptance of early harvested ‘Hayward’ kiwifruit

During two seasons, ‘in-store’ consumer acceptance tests were performed to determine the relationship between ripe soluble solids concentration (RSSC) and/or ripe titratable acidity (RTA) on ‘Hayward’ kiwifruit consumer acceptance. For this, 252 consumers were presented kiwifruit slice samples with RSSC of 11.0, 12.0, 13.0, and 14.0% with a RTA ranging from 0.8 to 1.2%. Kiwifruit with RSSC that ranged from 11.6 to 13.5% were always liked by consumers but with different degrees of liking. A 12.5% RSSC is proposed as a minimum quality index for early-marketed kiwifruit. RTA played a significant role in consumer acceptance only on kiwifruit that had RSSC11.6% with RTA1.17% (‘sour’). This kiwifruit quality survey indicated that some vineyards had kiwifruit with RSSC higher than 12.5% before they met the recommended minimum maturity standard of 6.5% HSSC. Kiwifruit picked with SSC6.2% developed flesh breakdown. This work demonstrated that some California vineyards could produce high taste quality (12.5% RSSC) kiwifruit before they reach 6.5% SSC measured when kiwifruit are hanging on the vines. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.