Isovanillic Sweeteners: Sensory Evaluation and In Vitro Assays with Human Sweet Taste Receptor

The natural compound phyllodulcin and its derivatives, the so-called isovanillic sweeteners, are a large and homogeneous group of sweet compounds. This paper describes the results on the systematic analysis of the taste profile of some representative compounds of this family. They show a marked sweet taste but also some afternotes as a licorice/anise flavor and a cooling effect that have been studied by means of time-intensity techniques. A comparison of data on sweet taste intensity assessed by sensory evaluation and by affinity tests with cloned human sweet taste receptor hT1R2/hT1R3 shows that for this homogeneous class of compounds-in vivo and in vitro estimates of sweet taste intensity are consistent.