title: Evaluation of the suppressive effect on bitter taste of gluconate.
abstract: Gluconate is used as an additive in a wide range of processed foods. In this study, we investigated its utility as a taste-improving substance. To determine whether it has a suppressive effect on bitter taste, sensory evaluations were performed by human subjects. When gluconate was added to a quinine-HCl (QHCl) solution, the taste intensity decreased, but this effect was not observed when it was added to caffeine and to naringin solutions. Then we investigated the mechanism of suppression by performing behavioral and electrophysiological assays on mice. In mice, the addition of gluconate improved the taste preference for and reduced the gustatory nerve response to QHCl. In sum, gluconate had a suppressive effect on the bitter taste of QHCl, which might have been caused by depression of gustatory nerve activity.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Narukawa
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsujitani
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakano-Ooka
authors.forename: Nari
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Miyamoto-Kokubo
authors.forename: Shoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sawano
authors.forename: Yukako
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005503:Food Additives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005942:Gluconates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008875:Middle Aged; D011803:Quinine / Q000494:pharmacology; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects*; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000187:drug effects; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005503:Food Additives; D005942:Gluconates; D011803:Quinine; C030691:gluconic acid