Influence of sugar composition in yoghurt on sweet receptor activation and sensory sweetness perception

BackgroundThe peptide gurmarin is a selective sweet response inhibitor for rodents. In mice, gurmarin sensitivity differs among strains with gurmarin-sensitive C57BL and gurmarin-poorly-sensitive BALB strains. In C57BL mice, sweet-responsive fibers of the chorda tympani (CT) nerve can be divided into two distinct populations, gurmarin-sensitive (GS) and gurmarin-insensitive (GI) types, suggesting the existence of two distinct reception pathways for sweet taste responses. By using the dpa congenic strain (dpa CG) whose genetic background is identical to BALB except that the gene(s) controlling gurmarin sensitivity are derived from C57BL, we previously found that genetically-elevated gurmarin sensitivity in dpa CG mice, confirmed by using behavioral response and whole CT nerve response analyses, was linked to a greater taste cell population co-expressing sweet taste receptors and a Gα protein, Gα-gustducin. However, the formation of neural pathways from the increased taste cell population to nerve fibers has not yet been examined.ResultsHere, we investigated whether the increased taste cell population with Gα-gustducin-coupled sweet receptors would be associated with selective increment of GS fiber population or nonselective shift of gurmarin sensitivities of overall sweet-responsive fibers by examining the classification of GS and GI fiber types in dpa CG and BALB mice. The results indicated that dpa CG, like C57BL, possess two distinct populations of GS and GI types of sweet-responsive fibers with almost identical sizes (dpa CG: 13 GS and 16 GI fibers; C57BL: 16 GS and 14 GI fibers). In contrast, BALB has only 3 GS fibers but 18 GI fibers. These data indicate a marked increase of the GS population in dpa CG.ConclusionThese results suggest that the increased cell population expressing T1r2/T1r3/Gα-gustducin in dpa CG mice may be associated with an increase of their matched GS type fibers, and may form the distinct GS sweet reception pathway in mice. Gα-gustducin may be involved in the GS sweet reception pathway and may be a key molecule for links between sweet taste receptors and cell type-specific-innervation by their matched fiber class.

Heterologously expressed sensory receptors generally do not achieve the ligand sensitivity observed in vivo, and may require specific accessory proteins to ensure optimal function. We searched for taste cell-expressed receptor transporting protein (RTP) and receptor expression enhancing protein (REEP) family members that might serve as accessory molecules to enhance gustatory receptor function. We determined that REEP2 is an integral membrane protein expressed in taste cells, physically associates with both subunits of the type 1 taste receptor 2 and type 1 taste receptor 3 sweet receptor and specifically enhances responses to tastants of heterologously expressed sweet and bitter taste receptors. Downregulation of endogenously expressed REEP2 in the chemosensory enteroendocrine GLUTag cell line dramatically reduced sensitivity of endogenous sweet receptors. In contrast to the observation that RTP1, RTP2, and REEP1 enhance function of olfactory receptors by promoting their transit to the cell surface, we found that REEP2 does not increase cell surface expression of sweet receptors but instead alters their spatial organization. REEP2 recruits sweet receptors into lipid raft microdomains localized near the taste cell’s apical region, thereby improving G-protein-coupled receptor signaling and promoting receptor access to tastants arriving through the apical taste pore.

Taste receptors are well known for their role in communicating information from the tongue to the brain about nutritional value or potential toxicity of ingested substances. More recently, it has been shown that taste receptors are expressed in other locations throughout the body, including the airway, gastrointestinal tract, brain and pancreas. The roles of some 'extraoral' taste receptors are largely unknown, but emerging research suggests that bitter and sweet taste receptors in the airway are capable of sensing bacteria and modulating innate immunity. This chapter focuses on the role of bitter and sweet taste receptors in human airway innate immunity and their clinical relevance to rhinosinusitis. The bitter taste receptor T2R38 expressed in sinonasal cilia detects bitter bacterial quorum-sensing molecules and activates a nitric oxide-dependent innate immune response; moreover, there are polymorphisms in T2R38 that underlie susceptibility to chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Bitter and sweet receptors in sinonasal solitary chemosensory cells control secretion of antimicrobial peptides in the upper airway and may have a profound impact on airway infections in patients with CRS and diabetes. Future research on taste receptors in the airway has enormous potential to expand our understanding of host-pathogen immune interactions and provide novel therapeutic targets.

Aspartame is a sweetener added to foods and beverages as a low-calorie sugar replacement. Unlike sugars, which are apparently perceived as sweet and desirable by a range of mammals, the ability to taste aspartame varies, with humans, apes, and Old World monkeys perceiving aspartame as sweet but not other primate species. To investigate whether the ability to perceive the sweetness of aspartame correlates with variations in the DNA sequence of the genes encoding sweet taste receptor proteins, T1R2 and T1R3, we sequenced these genes in 9 aspartame taster and nontaster primate species. We then compared these sequences with sequences of their orthologs in 4 other nontasters species. We identified 9 variant sites in the gene encoding T1R2 and 32 variant sites in the gene encoding T1R3 that distinguish aspartame tasters and nontasters. Molecular docking of aspartame to computer-generated models of the T1R2 + T1R3 receptor dimer suggests that species variation at a secondary, allosteric binding site in the T1R2 protein is the most likely origin of differences in perception of the sweetness of aspartame. These results identified a previously unknown site of aspartame interaction with the sweet receptor and suggest that the ability to taste aspartame might have developed during evolution to exploit a specialized food niche.

Yogurt is a dairy products through fermentation lactic acid bacteria (LAB) by Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus dan Streptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus. Isomalt has a lower caloric value can be used in yogurt. Addition of pineapple-carrot juice can also be done as a natural coloring gents, aroma and flavor enhancer in yogurt. The experimental design was a nested Randomized Block Design (RBD) with type of sugar (as the nest) consist of sucrose and isomalt, and pineapple-carrot juice addition (as the nested part) consist of 3 levels of 20%, 25%, and 30% with 4 replications for each treatment. The parameters observed were pH, acidity, syneresis, total LAB and sensory (preferences of taste, color, and aroma). Data statistically analyzed by ANOVA (Analysis of Varians) at α = 5%. If there was a significant difference, then it was continued by DMRT (Duncan's Multiple Range Test) test to determine which level of treatment that showed significant differences. Increased concentration of pineapple-carrot juice reduced pH, meanwhile acidity, syneresis, and viability of LAB were increased. The best yogurt in this research were yogurt with sucrose (30% pineapple carrot juice) with pH 4,442, acidity 34,48oSH, syneresis 1,87%, total of LAB 10,4491 log cfu/mL, consumer perception defined as neutral for color, rather liked for taste and aroma, and yogurt with isomalt (25% pineapple carrot juice) with pH 4,468, acidity 34,75oSH, syneresis 2,31%, total of LAB 10,2410 log cfu/mL, consumer perception defined as rather liked for color, neutral for aroma, and rather not liked for taste.

Rapid identification of dairy lactic acid bacteria by M13-generated, RAPD-PCR fingerprint databases

The microRNAs are non-coding RNA molecules involved in physiological and pathological processes, causing autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Probiotics are living microorganisms that possess beneficial effects on the host immune system and modulate it. The effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii on the expression of miR-125a and miR-146a was studied in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from newly diagnosed lupus patients in this in vitro study. During this study, 20 recently diagnosed SLE patients and 20 healthy individuals participated. Ficoll method was used to isolate the PBMCs from whole blood, which were cultured for 48 h with Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii. In the next step, total RNA containing microRNA was extracted. cDNA was synthesized for miR-125a and miR-146a genes and analyzed by real-time PCR. Results were presented as fold changes. As compared to healthy controls, SLE patients expressed lower levels of miR-125a and miR-146a. PBMCs treated with Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, or both probiotics had significantly higher levels of miR-125a and miR-146a compared to the untreated group. Treatment of PBMCs with both L. rhamnosus and L. delbrueckii upregulated the expression of miR-125a and miR-146a in treated cells compared with untreated cells in SLE patients (p = 0.02, p = 0.001). Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii modify lupus patients' immune responses and disease effects by regulating miR-125a and miR-146a.

Lactic acid bacteria evolution (Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) from two Romanian fermented dairy products (yoghurt and sana) was followed in tree stages of storage during shelf-life: in first day of storage after processing; in the middle of storage period and in the last day of storage period. An important decrease of lactic acid bacteria was observed to storage during shelf-life. This indicates a low stability of starter culture, viable germs being inhibited by other micro-organisms development (first Enterobacteriaceae then yeast and molds).

The research is about the two kinds of nutritious yoghurt, which are made from soybean and plant protein powder as resource of plant protein, with milk, sugar and stabilizer as main raw materials, meanwhile with Bifidobacteria adolescentic, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus as basic sour. Through experiments, it is determined that the optimum technological process of Bifidobacteria adolescentic plant protein yogurt I is: soybean content 3%, with 8% of sugar, 0.3% of stabilizer B, and 3% of vaccination quantity, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus: Streptococcus thermophilus: Bifidobacteria adolescentic = 1∶1∶4, fermented 4h. The optimum technological condition of Bifidobacteria adolescentic plant protein yogurt II is: the concentration of plant protein is 1.5%, sugar is 8%, stabilizer A is 0.1%, vaccination quantity is 3%, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus: Streptococcus thermophilus: Bifidobacteria adolescentic is 1∶1∶4, fermentation time 4.5 h.

The evolution of taste perception is usually associated with the ecology and dietary changes of organisms. However, the association between feeding ecology and taste receptor evolution is unclear in some lineages of vertebrate animals. One example is the sweet taste receptor gene Tas1r2 Previous analysis of partial sequences has revealed that Tas1r2 has undergone equally strong purifying selection between insectivorous and frugivorous bats. To test whether the sweet taste function is also important in bats with contrasting diets, we examined the complete coding sequences of both sweet taste receptor genes (Tas1r2 and Tas1r3) in 34 representative bat species. Although these two genes are highly conserved between frugivorous and insectivorous bats at the sequence level, our behavioral experiments revealed that an insectivorous bat (Myotis ricketti) showed no preference for natural sugars, whereas the frugivorous species (Rousettus leschenaultii) showed strong preferences for sucrose and fructose. Furthermore, while both sweet taste receptor genes are expressed in the taste tissue of insectivorous and frugivorous bats, our cell-based assays revealed striking functional divergence: the sweet taste receptors of frugivorous bats are able to respond to natural sugars whereas those of insectivorous bats are not, which is consistent with the behavioral preference tests, suggesting that functional evolution of sweet taste receptors is closely related to diet. This comprehensive study suggests that using sequence conservation alone could be misleading in inferring protein and physiological function and highlights the power of combining behavioral experiments, expression analysis, and functional assays in molecular evolutionary studies.

The sweet taste receptor, a heterodimeric G protein-coupled receptor comprised of T1R2 and T1R3, binds sugars, small molecule sweeteners, and sweet proteins to multiple binding sites. The dipeptide sweetener, aspartame binds in the Venus Flytrap Module (VFTM) of T1R2. We developed homology models of the open and closed forms of human T1R2 and human T1R3 VFTMs and their dimers and then docked aspartame into the closed form of T1R2's VFTM. To test and refine the predictions of our model, we mutated various T1R2 VFTM residues, assayed activity of the mutants and identified 11 critical residues (S40, Y103, D142, S144, S165, S168, Y215, D278, E302, D307, and R383) in and proximal to the binding pocket of the sweet taste receptor that are important for ligand recognition and activity of aspartame. Furthermore, we propose that binding is dependent on 2 water molecules situated in the ligand pocket that bridge 2 carbonyl groups of aspartame to residues D142 and L279. These results shed light on the activation mechanism and how signal transmission arising from the extracellular domain of the T1R2 monomer of the sweet receptor leads to the perception of sweet taste.

Microchip electrophoresis of bacteria using lipid-based liquid crystalline nanoparticles

Matsoni is a traditional Caucasian fermented milk product, characterised by a lactic acid bacteria (LAB) microbiota. Objectives of the present study were to isolate and identify the LAB of Matsoni samples collected from various Georgian areas and to study their technological characteristics. About 300 LAB from 71 samples of Matsoni were isolated and characterised. The species most representatives were Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. This study highlighted a high degree of biodiversity and a specific geographical distribution of the dominant LAB present in artisanal Matsoni. Some strains showed technological features useful to design a multistrain starter culture for Matsoni.

A number of health benefits have been claimed for probiotic bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Because of the potential health benefits, these organisms are increasingly incorporated into dairy foods. However, to reach health benefits, the concentration of probiotics have to be 106 CFU/g of a product. For assessing of required probiotic bacteria quantity, it is important to have a working method for selective enumeration of these probiotic bacteria. Five bacteriological media were evaluated to assess their suitability to selectively enumerate Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium spp. Bacteriological media evaluated included Streptococcus thermophilus agar, pH modified MRS agar, MRS-vancomycine agar and BSM (Bifidus selective medium) agar under different culture conditions.Seven selected fermented milk products with probiotic culture were analyzed for their bacterial populations using the described selective bacteriological media and culture conditions. All milk products contained probiotic microorganisms claimed to be present in declared quantity (106–107/g).

Nucleic Acids of Species of Lactobacillus