Novel scaffold of natural compound eliciting sweet taste revealed by machine learning

Abstract Sugar replacement is still an active issue in the food industry. The use of structure-taste relationships remains one of the most rational strategy to expand the chemical space associated to sweet taste. A new machine learning model has been setup based on an update of the SweetenersDB and on open-source molecular features. It has been implemented on a freely accessible webserver. Cellular functional assays show that the sweet taste receptor is activated in vitro by a new scaffold of natural compounds identified by the in silico protocol. The newly identified sweetener belongs to the lignan chemical family and opens a new chemical space to explore.

Numerical models contribute to expand the sweet taste chemical space

Ces molécules qui éveillent nos papilles

The sense of taste is a chemical sense and one of the most ancestral sensory modalities. It allows detectingand appreciating taste molecules present in our food. Beyond our vital needs, the pleasure elicited from whatwe eat can drive our feeding behaviors sometimes up to excess. Food intake involves several sensorysystems, mainly smell and taste. The underlying molecular mechanisms are relatively complex. This articlefocuses on the extent of the chemical space associated with the five primary tastes (sour, salty, sweet, bitterand umami), and details the fundamental role of gustatory receptors in the perception of taste as well aswithin interindividual variabilities.

Decoding sweet taste from chemical structures

International audience