Sensory nutrition and bitterness and astringency of polyphenols

Recent research indicates that dietary constituents, particularly polyphenols, interact with taste and olfactory receptors, as well as nociceptors in the oral and gastrointestinal tracts, influencing homeostasis via neuroendocrine activation. Polyphenols, numbering over 8000, are the most diverse secondary metabolites in plants, predominantly characterized by bitter and astringent flavors. Epidemiological evidence suggests that polyphenol consumption is linked to improved cardiovascular, cognitive, and sensory health outcomes. However, the low bioavailability of polyphenols complicates the understanding of their health benefits. This review highlights the sensory aspects of polyphenols, synthesizes findings on their bioregulatory relationships, and considers future research directions in this field. [NPID: Sensory, perception, nociceptors, polyphenols, plants]

Year: 2024

Reference: Osakabe, N., Shimizu, T., Fujii, Y., Fushimi, T., & Calabrese, V. (2024). Sensory Nutrition and Bitterness and Astringency of Polyphenols. Biomolecules, 14(2), 234. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14020234

Related Studies

Flavonoids and intestinal microbes interact to alleviate depression

Flavonoids, which are biologically active chemicals found in plants, have been shown to have significant physiological functions that benefit our health, however, flavonoids are not readily absorbed in the intestine and require pre-processing through the intestinal gut microbiota. Flavonoids, in turn, influence the gut microbiome population by providing the microbiome with nutrients from their breakdown, […]

Important flavonoids and their role as a therapeutic agent

Flavonoids were found to exert several beneficial impacts on health, such as antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, antiviral and cardio-protective effects. Flavonoids may represent a feasible bioactive intervention, and their effects depend on the type of flavonoid, its bioavailability and mechanism of action. In this study by Ullah et al. (2020), the authors highlight the current […]