Sophorolipid Biosurfactants Activate Taste Receptor Type 1 Member 3‐Mediated Taste Responses and Block Responses to Bitter Taste In Vitro and In Vivo

Abstract

Sophorolipids (SL) are typically produced and secreted by select nonpathogenic yeast species (i.e., Candida) from renewable substrates. They are currently being used by industry on a limited basis in formulations for cleaning solutions as well as laundry and dishwashing detergents. Due to the nature of their chemical structure, it was hypothesized that SL would demonstrate taste‐sensory properties. In this study, SL were produced via fermentation on a mixed substrate platform with glucose and either palmitic acid, stearic acid, or oleic acid using Candida (currently reclassified as Starmerella) bombicola ATCC 22214. The taste properties of SL were determined using a single‐cell manual calcium imaging technique on cultured human fungiform taste papillae (HBO) cells. The results of those studies demonstrated that sweetener‐responsive HBO cells also respond to SL, and these responses are mediated by the type 1 taste receptors 3 (T1R3), because they were blocked by lactisole (a T1R3 receptor‐specific blocker). The involvement of the T1R3 receptor in SL recognition was confirmed via the chorda tympani nerve recording (CTNR) study in a (−/−) T1R3 knockout (KO) mouse model. We further demonstrated that SL are capable of blocking the bitter stimuli‐elicited responses both in HBO cells and in the CTNR study. This is the first report demonstrating that SL have taste‐sensory properties, which opens up numerous possibilities for practical applications of SL to ameliorate bitter tastes in foods and drugs and understand the potential source of dysgeusia in some patients.

Fungal biosurfactants, from nature to biotechnological product: bioprospection, production and potential applications

“…Candida albicans SC5314 and Candida glabrata CBS138 sophorolipids have been reported to have emulsifying activities in olive oil, soy oil, almond oils and mustard by 40–50% [ 75 ]. In addition, SLs have sensory properties on the palate and responses induced in human taste buds cell cultures, enabling their application to modulate the taste of food and drugs [ 76 ].…”

Biosurfactants: Production and application prospects in the food industry

“…The structure of sophorolipids is comprised of a sophorose sugar molecule united to a hydroxylated long‐chain fatty acid 62 . MELs are characterized by mannose sugar linked to a fatty acid and are subdivided according to the length of the hydrophobic chain (fatty acid) and degree of saturation and/or acetylation in the C4 and C6 positions of the monosaccharide.…”

Sophorolipid Reduces Bitter Taste in Humans In Vivo and In Vitro

“…A recently published study using in vitro and animal models of taste response identified sophorolipids (SL) as a new candidate bitter reducer (Ozdener et al, 2019). SL are biosurfactant molecules produced from renewable substrates by some nonpathogenic yeast species, including Candida bombicola (Ashby et al, 2008, 2013; Develter and Lauryssen, 2010; Rawat et al, 2020).…”

“…Preapplication of SL to cultured human taste papillae cells reduced subsequent responses to a mixture of bitter compounds (Ozdener et al, 2019). Further, preapplication of SL to the tongues of anesthetized mice reduced subsequent bitter responses of the chorda tympani nerve, a branch of cranial nerve VII that carries signals from taste buds in the anterior tongue to the brain (Ozdener et al, 2019). Both results suggest that SL may reduce bitterness.…”