Bitterness in beer - Cell-based and sensory panel assays compared for bitterness

4 important questions on Bitterness in beer - Cell-based and sensory panel assays compared for bitterness

There extent of discrepancy between cell-based assay and human sensory panel is related to the different systems, how?

  • Cell-based assay
    • Cells, buffer containing ions with a pH similar to that of saliva
    • Determination of concentration needed to activate the receptor cell --> true intrinsic bitterness
  • Sensory panel
    1. Salivary proteins (residing in the oral cavity) might bind bitter acid and influence bitterness perception
    2. Adsorption of bitter acids to the oral epithelium
Both decrease the availability of bitter acids for binding to the bitter receptors.

Why are alpha- and beta-acids partially recovered when the oral cavity was rinsed with 50% (v/v) ethanol?

They are more apolar than the iso-alpha-acids and can, therefore, bind better to constituents of the oral cavity.

What are advantages and disadvantages of cell-based assay?

  • Advantages: highly suited for determining the intrinsic bitterness of compounds, associating bitter tastants to one particular receptor, and for activates requiring high throughput screening
  • Disadvantage: does not predict the actual bitterness as interactions with constituents of the oral cavity are not accounted for
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What are advantages and disadvantages of sensory panel assay?

  • Advantage: inter-individual variation and cross-modal interactions can be more easily studied
  • Disadvantage: difficult to recruit panelists, particularly for testing bitterness, as this is regarded as an off-taste in the Western world

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