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Beef peptides block bitter tastes

Date:
May 16, 2018
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
From burgers to steaks, beef has a long history of being a delicious part of dinner. But what if that pleasant experience of eating beef could extend beyond the dinner plate? Now, one group reports that beef protein, when broken down into peptides, can block bitter taste receptors on the tongue. Such peptides could someday be used to make other foods and even medicines taste better.
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FULL STORY

From burgers to steaks, beef has a long history of being a delicious part of dinner. But what if that pleasant experience of eating beef could extend beyond the dinner plate? Now, one group reports in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that beef protein, when broken down into peptides, can block bitter taste receptors on the tongue. Such peptides could someday be used to make other foods and even medicines taste better.

Most people try to avoid bitter flavors because they find them to be unpleasant. But some healthful foods are bitter, as are some medications. So, the food and pharmaceutical industries have been looking at ways to reduce or eliminate bitter sensations, which are detected in humans by 25 receptors known as T2Rs. Only a few inhibitors of T2R activity have been identified so far. In recent years, bioactive peptides created from breaking down food proteins, through a process known as enzymatic hydrolysis, have gained attention for reducing bitterness and inflammation. Because beef proteins have been shown to generate desirable flavor-promoting peptides, Prashen Chelikani, Rotimi E. Aluko and colleagues wanted to see if these peptides could block bitter tastes.

The researchers hydrolyzed beef protein with six different enzymes: alcalase, chymotrypsin, trypsin, pepsin, flavourzyme and thermoase. Peptides produced from trypsin and pepsin digestion were the most effective in reducing the intensity of the bitterness of quinine in a test with an electronic tongue. These peptides were also the longest, which suggests that peptide size might play an important role. The group notes this could impact not only the food industry but the pharmaceutical industry as well.


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Materials provided by American Chemical Society. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Chunlei Zhang, Adeola M. Alashi, Nisha Singh, Kun Liu, Prashen Chelikani, Rotimi E. Aluko. Beef Protein-Derived Peptides as Bitter Taste Receptor T2R4 Blockers. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2018; 66 (19): 4902 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b00830

Cite This Page:

American Chemical Society. "Beef peptides block bitter tastes." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 May 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180516123706.htm>.
American Chemical Society. (2018, May 16). Beef peptides block bitter tastes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180516123706.htm
American Chemical Society. "Beef peptides block bitter tastes." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180516123706.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

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