Human Sensory Test Research Articles

An ultra-dense linkage map identified quantitative trait loci corresponding to fruit quality- and size-related traits in red goji berry.

Goji berries are a small-fruited shrub with industrial importance whose fruit considered beneficial in both fresh and dried forms. Current germplasms of goji berries include small fruits with a short shelf life, less sweet and bitter taste, and a lack of appropriate genetic information. This study aimed to employ whole genome resequencing to generate an ultra-dense bin linkage map and to elucidate the genetic basis of goji fruit quality and size using quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping analysis in a cross-pollinated hybrid population. To achieve this goal, human sensory tests were carried out to determine the bitter taste (BT) and sweet taste (ST), and to quantify the soluble solid content (SSC), fruit firmness (FF), and fruit size-related traits of fresh goji fruits over three or four years. The results revealed that the goji bin linkage map based on resequencing spanned a total length of 966.42 cM and an average bin interval of 0.03 cM. Subsequent variant calling and ordering resulted in 3,058 bins containing 35,331 polymorphic markers across 12 chromosomes. A total of 99 QTLs, with individual loci in different environments explaining a phenotypic variance of 1.21-16.95% were identified for the studied traits. Ten major effects, including colocalized QTLs corresponding to different traits, were identified on chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8, with a maximum Logarithm of Odds (LOD) of 29.25 and 16.95% of explained phenotypic variance (PVE). In addition, four stable loci, one for FF, one for fruit weight (FW), and two for fruit shape index (FSI), were mainly mapped on chromosomes 5, 6, and 7, elucidating 2.10-16.95% PVE. These findings offer valuable insights into the genetic architecture of goji fruit traits along with identified specific loci and markers to further improve and develop sweeter, less bitter and larger fruited goji berry cultivars with extended shelf life.

Topical application of a P2X2/P2X3 purine receptor inhibitor suppresses the bitter taste of medicines and other taste qualities.

Many medications taste intensely bitter. The innate aversion to bitterness affects medical compliance, especially in children. There is a clear need to develop bitter blockers to suppress the bitterness of vital medications. Bitter taste is mediated by TAS2R receptors. Because different pharmaceutical compounds activate distinct sets of TAS2Rs, targeting specific receptors may only suppress bitterness for certain, but not all, bitter-tasting compounds. Alternative strategies are needed to identify universal bitter blockers that will improve the acceptance of every medication. Taste cells in the mouth transmit signals to afferent gustatory nerve fibres through the release of ATP, which activates the gustatory nerve-expressed purine receptors P2X2/P2X3. We hypothesized that blocking gustatory nerve transmission with P2X2/P2X3 inhibitors (e.g. 5-(5-iodo-4-methoxy-2-propan-2-ylphenoxy)pyrimidine-2,4-diamine [AF-353]) would reduce bitterness for all medications and bitter compounds. Human sensory taste testing and mouse behavioural analyses were performed to determine if oral application of AF-353 blocks perception of bitter taste and other taste qualities but not non-gustatory oral sensations (e.g. tingle). Rinsing the mouth with AF-353 in humans or oral swabbing it in mice suppressed the bitter taste and avoidance behaviours of all compounds tested. We further showed that AF-353 suppressed other taste qualities (i.e. salt, sweet, sour and savoury) but had no effects on other oral or nasal sensations (e.g, astringency and oral tingle). This is the first time a universal, reversible taste blocker in humans has been reported. Topical application of P2X2/P2X3 inhibitor to suppress bitterness may improve medical compliance.

Quantifying the bitter masking effect of drug-cyclodextrin complexation: NMR-ROESY mixing time approach

Taste, especially unpleasant taste, can be key for patient compliance. In the formulation development process, drug-cyclodextrin (CD) inclusion complexes are often used to improve the solubility of a drug and/or mask its bitterness. This study aimed to evaluate the bitter masking effect of CDs on different drugs using NMR-ROESY analysis, human sensory tests, and e-tongue measurements. The strength of inclusion complex formation between drugs and CDs was investigated by NMR-ROSEY, and these results were compared to human sensory test results. In the sensory test, participants identified which drug-CD inclusion complexes were not bitter. NMR-ROSEY results aligned with the sensory tests; short magnetization transfer times corresponded to masked bitterness. The electrical tongue was not able to detect the taste of any of the drug-CD inclusion complexes. Additionally, we used NMR-ROSEY to determine which drug-CD inclusion complex formed in a system with multiple drug substances present. This research offers valuable insights into the bitter masking effect of CDs on different drugs and presents a comprehensive evaluation approach using various methods. This knowledge has significant implications for the pharmaceutical industry, clinical practice, and patient care, contributing to improved patient compliance and satisfaction with bitter medications.

Observation-informed modeling of artificial neural networks to predict flow and bleeding of cement-based materials

Workability of concrete, an essential aspect in construction, determines the efficiency of pumping and placement processes, as well as the strength and durability properties after hardening. The slump test is the most widely used method for evaluating workability, and technicians roughly estimate the workability using their human senses. It may be challenging to unexperienced technicians and vulnerable to mistakes. This study aims to substitute human sensory and slump tests with artificial intelligence. An artificial neural network was adopted to predict both the fluidity and bleeding of the mortars. The observation-informed modeling acquires input of the measurement, the viscosity curve in this study, for the prediction. The resultant network yields a high accuracy for predicting the channel flow and bleeding rate of the mortar samples. This approach can improve the quality and efficiency of construction processes by reducing errors caused by human-sensory based decision.

Effect of relative humidity on the desorption of odour-active volatile organic compounds from paper and board: sensory evaluation and migration to Tenax®

Paper and board are used for packaging of moist as well as dry food. According to Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004, food contact materials (FCM) must not bring about a deterioration in the organoleptic characteristics of foodstuffs. For testing the transfer of off-flavour (taint) from packaging to food via the gas phase (DIN EN 1230-2), relative humidity (rH) has to be adjusted. In contrast, rH is neither taken into account when testing the odour (DIN EN 1230-1), nor in chemical migration of volatile organic substances (VOC) onto the adsorbent Tenax® (DIN EN 14338). In this work, effect of different rHs on the desorption of VOC from paper and board was investigated by GC-MS analysis as well as by human sensory tests. Raising humidity led to an increase in VOC transfer, which was observed by increasing peak areas as well as the detection of more substances in GC-MS. Analytical results were in line with human sensory tests. The odour profile of the paper at 33 and 58% rH was described as cardboard-like, sweet and smoky. Impact substances for these olfactory impressions were (E)-2-nonenal, vanillin and 2-methoxyphenol as identified by GC with an olfactory detection port (GC-ODP). The increase to 75 and 100% rH resulted in the additional perception of cheesy/sweaty and fatty/rancid impressions, which were primarily caused by short-chain fatty acids and di-unsaturated aldehydes.

Comparison of Bitterness Intensity between Prednisolone and Quinine in a Human Sensory Test Indicated Individual Differences in Bitter-Taste Perception.

Prednisolone is a frequently prescribed steroid with a bitter, unpalatable taste that can result in treatment refusal. Oral suspensions or powder dosage forms are often prescribed, particularly to pediatric patients, as they improve swallowability and ease of dose adjustment. Consequently, the bitterness of prednisolone is more apparent in these dosage forms. Few studies have investigated prednisolone's bitterness. Thus, in this study, 50 adults evaluated the bitterness of prednisolone using the generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS), in comparison with quinine, a standard bitter substance. Overall, prednisolone-saturated solution demonstrated the same extent (mean gLMS score: 46.8) of bitterness as 1 mM quinine solution (mean gLMS score: 40.1). Additionally, large individual differences were observed in the perception of the bitterness of prednisolone and quinine. Perceived flavors of some drugs are reportedly associated with bitter-taste receptor (TAS2Rs) polymorphisms. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between subjects' genetic polymorphisms of TAS2R19, 38, and 46, and their sensitivity to bitterness. Although a relationship between TAS2R19 polymorphisms and the perception of quinine bitterness was observed, no significant relationship was found between the perceived bitterness of prednisolone and the investigated genes. Ultimately, the results show that despite individual differences among subjects, the cause of prednisolone's strong bitterness is yet to be elucidated.

Sensory-guided isolation and identification of new sweet-tasting dammarane-type saponins from Jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum) herbal tea

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the chemical basis for the sweet property produced by Gynostemma pentaphyllum and find new natural high-potency (HP) sweeteners. Sixteen new compounds (gypenosides YN 1–16) were obtained by sensory-guided isolation and identification, in which fifteen of them were sweet-tasting constituents with sweetness intensities 10–100 times higher than that of sucrose evaluated by human sensory panel test. Their structures were established by 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, mass spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, and chemical method. Gypenoside YN 4 was the sweetest compound with a concentration of 15.504 ± 1.343 mg/kg, while gypenoside YN 12 has the highest concentration (1397.674 ± 12.948 mg/kg), as shown by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Structure-activity relationship analysis implied that the compounds’ sweetness intensity was associated with side-chain substitutions at C-20 or the number of glucosyl groups at C-3. These new plant-derived natural products may be potential natural sweeteners.

Characterization of Reduced-Fat Mayonnaise and Comparison of Sensory Perception, Rheological, Tribological, and Textural Analyses.

Reduced-fat products can help to fight obesity and its associated health risks. To develop appealing products, both product-specific fat replacers and suitable analytical methods for the characterization of fat-associated properties are important. The rheology, tribology, texture, and spreadability of a reduced-fat mayonnaise with different concentrations of corn dextrin were analyzed to determine properties such as flow behavior, viscosity, lubricity, firmness, and stickiness. Additionally, a sensory panel analyzed the samples for their mouthfeel (creaminess, firmness, and stickiness). Correlations between the results of the instrumental methods suggested that the analytical effort for the future development of appealing reduced-fat food products can be reduced. In addition, several correlations were identified between the instrumental and the sensory data. Results from tribological measurements correlated with the sensory attribute of stickiness, suggesting that tribometry can complement or constitute an alternative to complex and expensive human sensory tests. Additionally, the use of Stevens’ power law showed a high correlation between the Kokini oral shear stress and the sensory attribute of creaminess. The instrumental texture properties (firmness, stickiness) also correlated with the sensory sensation. The identified correlations obtained from comparing different methods may help to estimate the possible applications of new fat replacers and facilitate innovative product development.

Discrimination of durian ripeness level using gas sensors and neural network

In the agriculture industry, determining the ripeness level of fruits is a very important aspect. This is related to maintaining the quality of the production, and during the distribution process. Currently, human sensory tests are still commonly used to evaluate food products with inconsistent results. This study developed a system to discriminate the durian ripeness level using gas sensors and neural network based on the character of the fruit aroma. This system succeeded in distinguishing the ripeness of durian including unripe, ripe and overripe with performance evaluation values above 91%.

Predicting Odor Perception of Mixed Scent from Mass Spectrometry

The ability to perceive odors from chemical mixtures with subtle differences is difficult for humans. We cannot expect impression of the mixture of two original samples through sensory test. The essential oils themselves are complex mixtures. Moreover, if one mixes essential oils of two different groups (citrus & spicy), it will be difficult to predict the smell impression from this new blend of chemicals. However, the machine can predict the unexpected impression of the smell of new mixture. In this study, we synthesized binary-mixture mass spectra of essential oils numerically and then predicted their impression scores using neural networks. Next, we performed a human sensory test (2-Alternative forced choice) to distinguish the mixed scent from the original samples to validate the results of the neural network model. The experimental results suggest that the machine learning model can predict the odor of the mixture which has been validated by the human sensory test. Our main contribution here was to show the fundamental method to predict odor perception of the mixed scent from mass spectrometry data.

Gas Phase Odorant Detection by Insect Olfactory Receptor

The OR (olfactory receptor) with its high selectivity and sensitivity attracts many researchers to apply it to numerous kinds of odor biosensors. Till now, the liquid phase odorant detection has been well studied. However, most of the odorant molecules that scientists are interested in are hydrophobic and exist in atmosphere. Meanwhile, some odorant samples to be detected are precious and hard to collect. Here, we developed a gas phase odorant detection system using cell expressing insect OR. We then tested it with target ligand as well as reference gas and obtained the typical OR response. After this, we checked the influence of stimulation duration and liquid thickness to it. Moreover, the detection limit and selectivity were confirmed by a series of experiments. In addition, the sample concentration dependency was exhibited and a hypothesis towards inhibition phenomenon was proposed. Lastly, a human sensory test was operated to compare the performance of our system with human olfaction. In our system, only sub-milliliter target odorant was enough to trigger the OR response. Altogether, these results suggest this odor biosensor can be applied to gas phase odorant detection in multiple aspects owning to its detection capability and rapid response.

Physicochemical indicators coupled with multivariate analysis for comprehensive evaluation of matcha sensory quality

The sensory quality of matcha is a pivotal factor in determining consumer acceptance. However, the human sensory panel test is difficult to popularize by virtue of professional requirements and inability to evaluate large samples. The analysis showed that physicochemical indicators of matcha were significantly related to sensory quality. Hence, principal component analysis (PCA) based on selected key physicochemical indicators was proposed to evaluate the sensory quality of matcha in this research. The eight key indicators were selected from twenty-four physicochemical indicators based on least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) for the establishment of the PCA comprehensive evaluation model. The results demonstrated that the PCA comprehensive evaluation model achieved superior performance, with −0.895 rc (correlation coefficient in calibration set) and −0.883 rp (correlation coefficient in prediction set) for overall sensory quality. This work demonstrated that LASSO-PCA comprehensive evaluation as an objective protocol has great potential in predicting matcha sensory quality.

Predicting Odor Perception of Mixed Scent from Mass Spectrometry Using Machine Learning

Introduction The ability to perceive odors from chemical mixtures with subtle differences is difficult for humans. However, the machine can predict the unexpected impression of the smell of new mixture. We cannot expect impression of the mixture of two original samples through sensory test. Previous studies have reported predicting human odor impressions from the molecular structure parameters [1] and mass spectra of mono-molecular chemicals [2]. We adopted mass spectrum of a mixture such as essential oils to predict the smell impression [3] [4].Essential oils themselves are complex mixtures. Moreover, if one mixes two different group’s (citrus and spicy) essential oils, it is difficult to predict the smell from this new blend of chemicals. At first, we synthesized binary-mixture mass spectra of essential oils numerically and predicted their scent impression scores using neural network. Then, we performed a human sensory test [2 AFC (Alternative forced choice)] to distinguish the mixed scent from original samples to validate the results of the neural network model. Data and Method We used 96 mass spectra of essential oils. 50-250 m/z intensities were extracted from the original data because intensities at m/z below 50 mainly originate from odorless molecules. The mass spectra were normalized by dividing by the maximum value in the dataset to have a value between 0 and 1.At first, a five layer auto-encoder was used to reduce the high dimensionality of mass spectrum from 201 to 20 empirically by a 6 fold cross-validation method (fig. 1(a)). Then, we used 4 layer neural network model for training the model with sweet odor descriptors. 64 essential oils were labeled [5] with sweet (marked with 1) and others were non-sweet (marked with zero). We used four combinations of mixtures (100:0, 50:50, 100:100 & 0:100) for testing the scent impression score. In fact, 50: 50 and 100:100 gave the same prediction score because we used local normalization procedures for normalizing the mass spectrum with that mixture’s maximum value so that mass spectrum intensity is same. If the mixture mass spectrum is close to sweet one, it gives the prediction score closer to 1.We used 3 pairs of essential oils where one sample is from citrus and other is from spicy essential oil group; (a) lemon (citrus) & cinnamon leaf (spicy) (b) lime (citrus) & cardamom (spicy) (c) melissa (citrus) & pepper (spicy). We diluted the original samples (30µl) with ethanol (270µl) and for mixture, we used same ratio (15 µl) of citrus and spicy essential oils and diluted with 270 µl ethanol. Then, we used two alternative forced choice method (2-AFC) where the two samples were presented to the participants simultaneously and the participants were asked to identify the sample that is higher in the specific sensory attribute (such as sweetness) depicted in fig. 1(b). Binomial hypothesis test was performed on sensory test result to compare the result with neural network output. Results and Discussion Neural network sweetness prediction results for mixtures are very close to original citrus samples for all cases as shown in figs. 2(a)-(c). We evaluated the binomial hypothesis testing to the results of Sensory tests (Figs. 3(a)-(c)). Null Hypothesis is p=0.5 for basic guessing chance of getting the correct answer. If alternative hypothesis is p>0.5, participants are more likely to predict the sweet for mixture.For example, discrimination testing between cinnamon leaf and mixture, out of 24 participants 18 people found mixture was sweeter than pure cinnamon leaf. Thus we can say statistically (5% significance level) that mixture is sweeter than cinnamon leaf. From fig. 2(a), lemon and mixture (mixture of lemon and cinnamon leaf) are very close to the sweet prediction score and the results of the sensory test also support that. Thus we cannot say statistically that mixture is sweeter than lemon. This result shows that new mixture scent after mixing from two separate groups is almost identical to smell of lemon in terms of sweetness.The same observations for other experiments (fig. 2 (b)) except the result of mixture (Melissa & pepper) & pepper (fig. 2 (c)) which does not support neural network result. One assumption can be the odor descriptors of pepper (fresh, spicy, warm) and Melissa (lemon, sweet, floral) where the fresh note of pepper together with Melissa makes participants identify the sweet prediction of mixture. However, this was not the case with other tests.Thus we can say that it is difficult to discriminate between the mixture and original sample. Here, machine learning model shows its ability to detect subtle differences. We can conclude that, human participants found it difficult to distinguish between sweets that are very close to the neural network output.

Inhibition of Bitter Taste from Oral Tenofovir Alafenamide.

Children have difficulty swallowing capsules. Yet, when presented with liquid formulations, children often reject oral medications due to their intense bitterness. Presently, effective strategies to identify methods, reagents, and tools to block bitterness remain elusive. For a specific bitter-tasting drug, identification of the responsible bitter receptors and discovery of antagonists for those receptors can provide a method to block perceived bitterness. We have identified a compound (6-methylflavone) that can block responses to an intensely bitter-tasting anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug, tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), using a primary human taste bud epithelial cell culture as a screening platform. Specifically, TAS2R39 and TAS2R1 are the main type 2 taste receptors responding to TAF observed via heterologously expressing specific TAS2R receptors into HEK293 cells. In this assay, 6-methylflavone blocked the responses of TAS2R39 to TAF. In human sensory testing, 8 of 16 subjects showed reduction in perceived bitterness of TAF after pretreating (or "prerinsing") with 6-methylflavone and mixing 6-methylflavone with TAF. Bitterness was completely and reliably blocked in two of these subjects. These data demonstrate that a combined approach of human taste cell culture-based screening, receptor-specific assays, and human psychophysical testing can successfully discover molecules for blocking perceived bitterness of pharmaceuticals, such as the HIV therapeutic TAF. Our hope is to use bitter taste blockers to increase medical compliance with these vital medicines. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Identification of a small molecule that inhibits bitter taste from tenofovir alafenamide may increase the compliance in treating children with human immunodeficiency virus infections.

Sweet taste of heavy water

Hydrogen to deuterium isotopic substitution has only a minor effect on physical and chemical properties of water and, as such, is not supposed to influence its neutral taste. Here we conclusively demonstrate that humans are, nevertheless, able to distinguish D2O from H2O by taste. Indeed, highly purified heavy water has a distinctly sweeter taste than same-purity normal water and can add to perceived sweetness of sweeteners. In contrast, mice do not prefer D2O over H2O, indicating that they are not likely to perceive heavy water as sweet. HEK 293T cells transfected with the TAS1R2/TAS1R3 heterodimer and chimeric G-proteins are activated by D2O but not by H2O. Lactisole, which is a known sweetness inhibitor acting via the TAS1R3 monomer of the TAS1R2/TAS1R3, suppresses the sweetness of D2O in human sensory tests, as well as the calcium release elicited by D2O in sweet taste receptor-expressing cells. The present multifaceted experimental study, complemented by homology modelling and molecular dynamics simulations, resolves a long-standing controversy about the taste of heavy water, shows that its sweet taste is mediated by the human TAS1R2/TAS1R3 taste receptor, and opens way to future studies of the detailed mechanism of action.

A Luminescence-Based Human TRPV1 Assay System for Quantifying Pungency in Spicy Foods.

The quantitation of pungency is difficult to achieve using sensory tests because of persistence, accumulation, and desensitization to the perception of pungency. Transient receptor vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), which is a chemosensory receptor, plays a pivotal role in the perception of many pungent compounds, suggesting that the activity of this receptor might be useful as an index for pungency evaluation. Although Ca2+-sensitive fluorescence dyes are commonly used for measuring human TRPV1 (hTRPV1) activity, their application is limited, as foods often contain fluorescent substances that interfere with the fluorescent signals. This study aims to design a new pungency evaluation system using hTRPV1. Instead of employing a fluorescent probe as the Ca2+ indicator, this assay system uses the luminescent protein aequorin. The luminescence assay successfully evaluated the hTRPV1 activity in foods without purification, even for those containing fluorescent substances. The hTRPV1 activity in food samples correlated strongly with the pungency intensity obtained by the human sensory test. This luminescence-based hTRPV1 assay system will be a powerful tool for objectively quantifying the pungency of spicy foods in both laboratory and industrial settings.

A Combined Study of Headspace Volatiles using Human Sensory, Mass Spectrometry and Chemometrics

Smokeless tobacco products (STPs) are widely used in certain parts of the world, yet there is limited understanding of how they are consumed, particularly the impact of chemosensory characteristics on their use. In order to develop an understanding of the drivers of STP use and product acceptability we conducted both human sensory panel testing and chemical analyses on a range of STPs. Free-sorting paired odour testing using sensory panellists identified similarities and clear differences between eleven different STPs. Headspace volatiles, analysed by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS), identified 20 to 70 components depending upon the STP. Key differences in headspace volatiles were found between STPs. For example, the headspace of Skoal Bandits Wintergreen was dominated by methyl salicylate, while Marlboro Spice consists of a more complex profile including pinene, nicotine, eugenol and cymene. Chemometric Target Factor Analysis (TFA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) of chemistry and sensory data was used to deduce chemical drivers of sensory perceptions. The chemometric strategy used showed that headspace analysis is a complementary screening tool to sensory analysis in classification studies. This study is generic with applications across various product sectors that require routine human sensory panel evaluation.

Discovery and Development of S6821 and S7958 as Potent TAS2R8 Antagonists.

In humans, bitter taste is mediated by 25 TAS2Rs. Many compounds, including certain active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients, and nutraceuticals, impart their bitter taste (or in part) through TAS2R8 activation. However, effective TAS2R8 blockers that can either suppress or reduce the bitterness of these compounds have not been described. We are hereby reporting a series of novel 3-(pyrazol-4-yl) imidazolidine-2,4-diones as potent and selective TAS2R8 antagonists. In human sensory tests, S6821 and S7958, two of the most potent analogues from the series, demonstrated efficacy in blocking TAS2R8-mediated bitterness and were selected for development. Following data evaluation by expert panels of a number of national and multinational regulatory bodies, including the US, the EU, and Japan, S6821 and S7958 were approved as safe under conditions of intended use as bitter taste blockers.

A Novel Method to Mask the Bitter Taste of Berberine Hydrochloride: Powder Surface Modification.

Background:Berberine hydrochloride (BH) is widely used as a nonprescription drug to treat diarrhea without drug resistance and side effects worldwide. However, its drastic bitterness affects patient compliance severely. Hence, it is essential to mask the bitter taste of BH.Objective:Powder surface modification technology is attempted to mask the bitterness of BH through changing the surface properties in vibromill. The purpose of this study was to apply this technology to mask the bitterness of BH and improve the patient compliance.Materials and Methods:Initially, to prepare the modifier-BH composites, some parameters were optimized, including type of modifiers, ratio between BH and modifiers, and composite time. Then, the contact angles, scanning electron microscopy, and infrared (IR) spectroscopy were utilized to evaluate the microstructure of composites. Moreover, electronic tongue measurement, animal performance test, and bitterness evaluation methods were applied to evaluate the masking effect.Results:Based on the results of bitter taste evaluations, mannitol was chosen as the best modifier, and the optimal ratio of BH and mannitol was 6:4 with grinding together for 2 min in vibromill. For the composites prepared by this process, the IR spectroscopy and surface properties were similar with that of mannitol, and the microstructure was also demonstrated that small particles of mannitol successfully coated on the surface of BH. Special structure of the composites decreased the contact area between BH and external media and finally inhibited the bitterness. This effect was confirmed by three different kinds of methods.Conclusion:Our study provides a novel method to mask the bitter taste of drugs. It will be of great interest to pharmaceutical experts and pharmacists.SUMMARY Powder surface modification, a novel and different from previous technology, is used to prepare modifier-berberine hydrochloride composites to mask the bitter taste of BHElectronic tongue measurement, animal performance test, human sensory test, and chemical evaluation method were simultaneously applied to evaluate the masking effectA novel method to mask the bitter taste of drugs was provided. Abbreviations used: BH:Berberine hydrochloride; CDI: Clostridium difficile infection; ODT: Orally disintegrating tablets; HPLC: High-performance liquid chromatography; CAs: Contact angles; SEM: Scanning electron microscopy; IR: Infrared spectrogram.

A novel quantified bitterness evaluation model for traditional Chinese herbs based on an animal ethology principle

Traditional Chinese herbs (TCH) are currently gaining attention in disease prevention and health care plans. However, their general bitter taste hinders their use. Despite the development of a variety of taste evaluation methods, it is still a major challenge to establish a quantitative detection technique that is objective, authentic and sensitive. Based on the two-bottle preference test (TBP), we proposed a novel quantitative strategy using a standardized animal test and a unified quantitative benchmark. To reduce the difference of results, the methodology of TBP was optimized. The relationship between the concentration of quinine and animal preference index (PI) was obtained. Then the PI of TCH was measured through TBP, and bitterness results were converted into a unified numerical system using the relationship of concentration and PI. To verify the authenticity and sensitivity of quantified results, human sensory testing and electronic tongue testing were applied. The quantified results showed a good discrimination ability. For example, the bitterness of Coptidis Rhizoma was equal to 0.0579mg/mL quinine, and Nelumbinis Folium was equal to 0.0001mg/mL. The validation results proved that the new assessment method for TCH was objective and reliable. In conclusion, this study provides an option for the quantification of bitterness and the evaluation of taste masking effects.