ISM 2018

•••4••• Innovationen How do we taste the sugary richness of candy? Researchers identify a new chemical pathway that helps the brain to detect sweet avours The research finds that a second protein – TRPM4 – performs a sim- ilar role in the taste system. In ex- periments, mice who had TRPM4 drank sugar water enthusiastically and enjoyed a savoury treat. They also recoiled from quinine, a bit- ter compound. Mice who were missing the protein on their taste cells had a more difficult time de- tecting sweet, bitter and savoury flavours. “Our research shows that there is redundancy in the taste system,” says lead researcher Kathryn Me- dler, PhD, associate professor of biological sciences in the Uni- versity at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences. “This is important because taste is actually central to our survival. If you can’t taste something bitter, you might gob- ble up something that’s poison- ous without ever knowing that it could be harmful. Taste, in gener- al, is one of our underappreciated senses,” she stresses. In addition to Medler and Banik, the authors of the new PNAS study include graduate student Laura E. Martin and Assistant Pro- fessor Ann-Marie Torregrossa, both in the UB Department of Psy- chology, and Marc Freichel at Uni- versitat Heidelberg in Germany. Changing dogma in taste science “Our study changes a central dog- ma in the field – that detecting bitter, sweet and umami stimuli is dependent on the presence of TRPM5 alone,” says Debarghya Dutta Banik, the study’s first au- thor and a PhD candidate in bio- logical sciences at the University at Buffalo. “This research helps us to understand how the taste system works.” Like TRPM5, TRPM4 is a special kind of pro- tein called an ion channel. Found on taste cells, TRPM5 and TRPM4 channels open when sweet, bit- ter or savoury foods land on the tongue. This sets off a chain re- action in which the cells produce an electrical signal that travels to the brain, notifying the organ of which flavours have been de- tected. Banik and Medler’s new study found that mice were most sensitive to sweet, bitter and umami stimuli when the animals had both TRPM5 and TRPM4 on their taste cells. Removing either protein caused a decrease in sen- sitivity, and removing both left the mice unable to detect the flavours at all. Though the study was done on mice, the research is likely relevant to humans, Medler says. TRPM5 and TRPM4 are both present in human taste cells, and TRPM5 is known to play a role in how people taste. A microscope image of taste buds in a mouse tongue shows taste cells with TRPM4 ion chan- nels highlighted in red. Photo: Debarghya Dutta Banik Moderate amounts are healthy Study: eating chocolate may decrease risk of irregular heartbeat Consuming moderate amounts of chocolate was associated with significantly lower risk of being di- agnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) – a common and dangerous type of irregular heartbeat – in a large study of men and women in Denmark led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Pub- lic Health and in Denmark. “Our study adds to the accumulating evidence on the health benefits of moderate chocolate intake and highlights the importance of be- havioural factors for potentially lowering the risk of arrhythmias,” said Elizabeth Mostofsky, instruc- tor in the Department of Epidemi- ology at Harvard Chan School, a postdoctoral fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and lead author of the study. Previous studies have suggested that co- coa and cocoa-containing foods – in particular, dark chocolate, which has a higher cocoa content than milk chocolate – confer car- diovascular benefits, perhaps be- cause of their high content of fla- vanols. Kalorienarmer Zuckerersatz So süß wie Zucker, aber nur halb so viele Kalori- en: Isomalt wird als Zu- ckeraustauschstoff in Süßwaren wie Bonbons oder Kaugummis verar- beitet und eignet sich als kalorienarmes Süßungs- mittel auch für Diabeti- ker. Auf dem asiatischen Kontinent produziert nun ein deutsch-thailän- disches Joint Venture diese Zuckeralternative. Hierfür haben die Part- ner eine Demonstrati- onsanlage in Ratchaburi (Thailand) in Betrieb genommen. Die Nachfrage nach Zuckeraustauschstoffen in Asien sei groß, heißt es. Die Zahl an Menschen mit Übergewicht und Diabetes wächst stetig. Fast jeder zehnte Asiate ist derzeit von der häufigsten Form der Zuckerkrankheit, dem Typ- 2-Diabetes, betroffen. Laut aktuellen Studien könnte sich diese Zahl in den nächsten 25 Jahren nahezu ver- doppeln. Entsprechend steigt der Bedarf an kalorien- armer Ernährung. Süßwarenhersteller konzentrieren sich zunehmend auf die Herstellung von Produkten ohne Zucker. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Zuckeraus- tauschstoffen zeichnet sich Isomalt dadurch aus, dass es praktisch keine Feuchtigkeit aus der Luft auf- nimmt. Dadurch verklumpt Isomalt weder beim Ver- arbeitungsprozess noch im Endprodukt. Isomalt bietet sich für die Herstellung von zuckerfreien Bonbons an. Diese sind aufgrund ihrer Eigenschaften auch für Diabetiker geeignet. Foto: Evonik Industries AG AGRIFLEX s.r.l. www.agriflex.it Halle: 10.1 • Stand: G029 AZO GmbH + Co. 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