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Taste
(Gustation)

Aroma
(Olfaction)

Mouthfeel

Trigeminal & Thermal

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Taste

Umami
(MSG)

Sweet
(Sugars)

Taste
(Gustation) Bitter
(Quinine)

Sour
(Citric acid)

Salty
(NaCl)

And is Kokumi the sixth taste ? Read on !

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Bell pepper, Peas, Carrot, Hay, Grass, Tobacco, Mint Citrus, Berry, Fig, Raisin, Cherry, Apple, Banana, Melon

Almond, Peanut, Walnut, Hazelnut

Pine, Amber Patchouli

Nutty

Woody

Mushroom, Moldy Corky, Geosmin

Herbal Vegetable

Earthy
Plastic, Gasoline, Solventy

Fruity

Chemical Pungent Phenolic

Aroma
(Olfaction)

Clove, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Anise, Basil, Coriander, Black pepper Magnolia, Rose, Orange blossom, Violet, Geranium

Spicy

Vinegar, Mustard, Horseradish

Floral Microbiological Putrid

Fecal

Roasted Animal
Musk, Castoreum Cocoa, Coffee

Smoky, Leather, Vanilla, Medicinal

Yeasty, Buttery, Sweaty, Horsey, Mousey

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Major Mouthfeel Attributes

Glutathione (-Glu-Cys-Gly), -Glu-Val-Gly Gums, Hydrocolloids, Sugars

Kokumi
(Heartiness, fullness)
Gums, Gelatin, etc

Viscosity
(Thickness)
Catechins, Tannins, Bark extracts

Slickness
(Gelatinous)

Mouthfeel
Carbonation, Other Tingling agents

Astringency

Tingly Oily
(fat, creamy)

Particulates
Grainy, Gritty, Crunchy, Chalky

Butterfat, Chicken fat Beef fat, Oils

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Major Thermal & Chemesthetic (e.g. Trigeminal) Attributes

Cold
(Temperature)

Hot
(Temperature)

Trigeminal
&

Thermal

Menthol, Menthyl Carboxamides (WS-3, WS-5, G-180), Icilin and more

Cold (Chemical)
Pain (Irritation)
All the above

Hot (Tingly)
(Chemical)

Chile pepper ( capsaicin), Black pepper (piperine), Ginger (gingerols, shogaols), Jambu (Spilanthol), Guinea pepper (paradols), Sichuan pepper (Hydroxysanshools), Mustard & Horseradish (isothicyanates)

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From the previous slides, it should be clear that oral perception is very complex. However, it is estimated that 70% of all aroma chemicals also are trigeminal stimulants. Further, in recent years, it has been discovered that many of the cold & hot (chemical) trigeminal stimulants are also salt and flavor enhancers. In addition, the warm and tingling trigeminals affect mouthfeel attributes. Today, this is one of hottest areas of flavor research in the food industry. In addition, the recent research on Kokumi flavor enhancers (which, by themselves are tasteless), such as Glutathione (Glu-Cys-Gly) & -Glu-Val-Gly for enhancing flavors for poultry, soups, sweetness etc. will greatly improve future flavor systems.

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COLD & HOT RECEPTORS AND MECHANISM OF ACTION The underlying process in thermoreception, whether hot or cold, is dependent on ion transport across cellular membranes. Cellular membranes consist of an oily phospholipid bilayer, which would be impermeable to ions such as K+ or Ca++ except for receptor protein ion channels. The flow of ions through these gated ion channels can cause rapid changes in ion concentrations, which in turn produce electrical signals that are the basis for many biological processes. In the case of thermoreceptors, these are activated when a thermal (or chemical) stimulus excites primary afferent sensory neurons of the dorsal or trigeminal ganglia.

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Thermoreceptors belong to the class of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels of which seven subfamilies exist (TRPC, TRPV, TRPM, TRPA, TRPP, TRPML, and TRPN). Six members of three TRP subfamilies are involved in mammalian temperature-sensitive thermoreception. Thermoreceptor Agonists

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Human and rat heterodimer T1R2/T1R3 taste receptors recognize sweet taste stimuli.
T1R2/T1R3 T1R1/T1R3

While human and rat heterodimer T1R1/T1R3 taste receptors recognize umami taste stimuli.
Adapted from Xiaodong Li, Lena Staszewski, Hong Xu, Kyle Durick, Mark Zoller, and Elliot Adler, Human receptors for sweet and umami taste, PNAS April 2, 2002 vol. 99 no. 7 4692-4696

Leffingwell & Associates Important non-caloric sweeteners

O H2N OH

O O NH

Rebaudioside A
(PureVia, Rebiana, Truvia)
O K N O O S O CH3

Aspartame
O- Na+

O S NH

O- Na+
N

S O

Acesulfame K
(Sunett & Sweet One)

Sodium cyclamate

Sodium saccharin

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Important Commercial Umami Compounds

O N O Na+ O
-

O N O

NH

NH

O O

NH2

Na+ -O

O O

O- Na+

O- Na+

OH

OH
NH2
-

OH

OH

Disodium guanylate
Na+ O

Disodium inosinate
OH

Monosodium glutamate
(MSG)

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Important Hot, Warming, Tingling Compounds

O N H

O O

Spilanthol
(found in Jambu)

[6]-Paradol
(found in Ginger)
O

OH

O O
N

N H OH

Piperine
(found in Black pepper)

Capsaicin
(found in hot Chile peppers)

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Some Important Commercial Cooling Compounds

H N OH O O

H N

CO2Et
O N H

(-)-Menthol

WS-3

WS-5

WS-23

O OH O O OH OH O O OH

H N O CN

Menthol lactate
(Frescolat ML)

Frescolat MPD

Coolact 10

Evercool G-180

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Important Kokumi Compounds

HS O O H N HO NH2 N H OH O O

Glutathione

gamma-L-Glutamyl-L-cysteinylglycine, (GSH, -Glu-Cys-Gly)

O O H N HO NH2 N H O OH O

gamma-L-Glutamyl-L-valylglycine
(-Glu-Val-Gly)
Glutathione was approved as GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) by the FDA in December 2009 and gamma-L-Glutamyl-L-valylglycine was approved as a GRAS flavorant by FEMA in January 2011

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What is Kokumi ?
By human sensory analyses, researchers at Ajinomoto found that various extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) agonists enhance sweet, salty, and umami tastes, although they have no taste themselves. These characteristics are known as kokumi taste and often appear in traditional Japanese cuisine. Although Glutathione (GSH) is a typical kokumi taste substance (taste enhancer), its mode of action was poorly understood. They demonstrated how the kokumi taste is enhanced by the CaSR, a close relative of the class C G-protein-coupled receptors T1R1, T1R2, and T1R3 (sweet and umami receptors). They identified a large number of CaSR agonist -glutamyl peptides, including GSH (-Glu-Cys-Gly) and -Glu-Val-Gly, and showed that these peptides elicit the kokumi taste. Further analyses revealed that some known CaSR agonists such as Ca2+, protamine, polylysine, l-histidine, and cinacalcet (a calcium-mimetic drug) also elicit the kokumi taste. This is the first report indicating a distinct function of the CaSR in human taste perception.
Takeaki Ohsu, Yusuke Amino, Hiroaki Nagasaki, Tomohiko Yamanaka, Sen Takeshita, Toshihiro Hatanaka, Yutaka Maruyama, Naohiro Miyamura, and Yuzuru Eto, Involvement of the Calciumsensing Receptor in Human Taste Perception, J. Biol. Chem., 2010, 285: 1016-1022 .

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So is Kokumi a taste ?
Perhaps it is the Sixth taste ! Certainly it is a taste enhancer, a taste modifier and an attribute that effects mouthfeel. Until it is officially classified by the science community as the 6th taste, we have placed it (perhaps incorrectly) in the mouthfeel category. In our opinion, it is difficult to define, but we definitely lean toward the possibility of it being the 6th taste.