Sensory evaluation, chemical structures, and threshold concentrations of bitter-tasting compounds in common foodstuffs derived from plants and maillard reaction: A review

Abstract

The bitterness of foodstuffs is often associated with toxicity, which negatively influences product acceptability. However, bitter compounds have many benefits, and a slight bitter taste is sometimes favored. In this review, we summarize the methods used to isolate and evaluate the taste of bitter compounds in different foods. The chemical structures and threshold concentrations of these compounds are also recapped. Although the structures and thresholds of many bitter compounds have been confirmed, further studies are needed to develop detailed bitter-masking strategies and establish the relation between functional groups (hetero-cyclic substituents and bonding types) and taste quality. Furthermore, a comprehensive bitterness database and chemometric data must be provided in order to quickly assess the bitterness of unfamiliar products.

Keywords:

• Bitter taste
• Maillard reaction
• plant-derived foodstuffs
• sensory evaluation
• threshold concentration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the National Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 31771931 and 32001817), the Science and Technology Innovation Plan of Colleges and Universities of Shanxi Province (2020L0298), the start-up funds for scientific research at North University of China (1101285714), the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2020A1515110348) and the Guangdong "Overseas Famous Teacher" Project (2020A1414010109). We thank LetPub (www.letpub.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.