Exploration of supramolecular phenomena in foods for taste control and elucidation of their mechanisms

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K05938
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 38050:Food sciences-related
• Research Institution: National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
• Principal Investigator: Ujihara Tomomi 国立研究開発法人農業・食品産業技術総合研究機構, 食品研究部門, 上級研究員 (60355609)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 味 / 味制御 / マスキング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we searched for a candidate taste modifier that modulates the taste of food components, and confirmed the taste change of the candidate we found by adding it to two types of food containing components with different structures. Since these candidates are commercially available as food additives and have sufficient food experience, it was thought that they could be used safely without any special precautions. In addition, the interaction of bitter or astringent food components in aqueous solution was analyzed using computational chemistry to clarify the structure of the complex, and binding simulations with receptor proteins were conducted for two food components that are isomers of each other and have different tastes. We found that these isomers differ in the strength of their interaction with the ligand recognition site of the receptor.

Free Research Field

食品化学、有機化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本課題において、味をマスキングする食品成分を見出したが、この物質は既に食品添加物として市販されており、安全性に対する懸念なく使用が可能であると考えられる。また、この物質は従来マスキング効果を示すことは知られておらず、現行のマスキング物質とは構造が全く異なることから、既知の作用機作とは異なる方法でマスキング効果を与えている可能性があると考えられる。今後この作用機作について解明することで、新たな味制御法の開発につながることが期待できる。