Astringent Mouthfeel as a Consequence of Lubrication Failure

Abstract

Herein, we systematically investigate the origin of astringent mouthfeel when we eat unripe fruits, drink coffee or tea, from the perspective of lubrication by simulating the dynamic weak interaction on the tongue with model protein (mucoprotein, MP) and polyphenolic compounds (tannic acid, TA). Astringency was due to the protein-mediated lubrication failure when encountering polyphenolic molecules that normally exist, for example in unripe fruits, coffee, tea. The underlying molecular mechanism of oral tribology is widely present in nature and enables us to engineer a tongue-like polyacrylamide composite hydrogel that exhibits high TA sensitivity and to develop a scientific strategy for catching slippery fish using TA-containing gloves. These results provide novel and useful insights into the failure of biological boundary lubrication on soft tissue surface with the adsorbed proteins.

Development of a preliminary sensory lexicon for mate tea

“…It is often associated with the presence and concentration of tannins (Tessmer et al, ) and catechins (Fernandes et al, ; Xu et al, ). In some cases, astringency is due to protein‐mediated lubrication failure when encountering polyphenolic molecules that normally exist in unripe fruits, coffee, and tea (Ma, Lee, Liang, & Zhou, ). Astringency can interact with bitterness.…”

Phenolic Building Blocks for the Assembly of Functional Materials

“…In addition to the applications mentioned above, phenolic materials have recently been explored for some interesting emerging applications using their adhesive, antibacterial, antioxidant, astringent, and metal chelating properties. For example, Ma et al [225] studied the astringent effect of phenolics, originating from protein-mediated lubrication failure, and engineered a tongue-like polyacrylamide hydrogel that exhibited high polyphenol sensitivity. Using this property, a scientific strategy has been demonstrated to efficiently catch fishes (the epidermal layer of fishes is rich in various biologically active proteins) with a TA-modified glove (Figure 12a-c).…”

Phenolische Bausteine für die Assemblierung von Funktionsmaterialien

“…Zusätzlich zu den genannten Anwendungen wurden phenolische Materialien kürzlich für einige interessante neue Anwendungen untersucht, die ihre adhäsiven, antibakteriellen, antioxidativen, adstringierenden und metallchelatisierenden Eigenschaften nutzen. Zum Beispiel untersuchte Ma et al . die adstringierende Geschmacksempfindung von Polyphenolen, die von einem proteinvermittelten Hafteffekt herrühren, und entwickelte ein die Zunge imitierendes Polyacrylamid‐Hydrogel, das eine hohe Polyphenol‐Empfindlichkeit zeigte.…”

“…(a) Adstringierende Reaktion eines Fisches auf TA (b) schematisch und (c) Photographie des Greifens eines Fisches mit einem TA‐modifizierten Handschuh. Reproduziert mit Genehmigung . Copyright 2016 Wiley‐VCH.…”