Temporal Sweetness Profile of MNEI and Comparison with Commercial Sweeteners

Abstract

None of the current sweeteners match sucrose in terms of sweet taste quality or temporal characteristics. In fact, the sensory performance of a sweetener changes over time and it could interact with other stimuli. Time-intensity (t-I) and temporal of dominance sensation (TDS) are both dynamic sensory methods, but they give different and complementary information: t-I focuses on the evolution of the intensity of one attribute, whereas TDS is a descriptive multi-attribute methodology that deals with the interactions among attributes.The objectives of this study were to describe the sweetness temporal profile of a new protein-based sweetener, MNEI, and to compare it with that of aspartame, saccharin and sucrose. First, equi-sweetness values of MNEI and of three sweeteners were determined. Then, those concentrations were investigated: the intensity of sweetness over time was evaluated in aqueous solutions by the t-I method; the interaction between sweetness and other sensory stimuli was evaluated in more complex solutions, containing flavoring and acidifying agents, by means of the TDS method. t-I results showed that the sweetness provided by MNEI decreased later than the others, in different times, and it was not extinguished completely, whereas TDS results showed that the dominant attributes of model beverages were almost the same for all sweeteners. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe structure of MNEI is completely compatible with that of natural proteins. This protein determines a sensory performance similar to that of other studied sweeteners, especially aspartame, but has been proven to be stable in heat treatment and pH changes. No off-flavor that generally characterizes many highintensity sweeteners (HIS) was detected when tested by the assessors. Indeed, even if the sweetness imparted by MNEI was perceived later than the sweetness provided by sucrose, in the presence of other stimuli, no significant differences were detected. These properties could make MNEI a good choice as HIS for low-calorie beverages and dairy products.

Temporal sweetness profile of the emerging sweetener MNEI in stirred yogurt

“…Analysis of variance results (Table ) showed that the sweeteners did not differ for almost every parameter extracted from the t – I curves ( I start , I end , I max , t start , t SPl , t EPl ) ( p > 0.05), except for t end ( p ≪ 0.01), which ranged between 42 and 50 s, for xylitol, sucrose, and sorbitol, without significant differences among these sweeteners, to 66 s, for MNEI. These results indicate that the sweetness imparted by MNEI ended almost 20 s later compared to the other sweeteners in stirred yogurts, hinting to a different mechanism of interaction between the protein and sweet taste receptors, already underlined in previous studies (Di Monaco et al, ; Leone et al, ; Miele, Cabisidan, Galiñanes Plaza, et al, ).…”

“…For what concerns, its sweetness temporal profile and its lingering sweet taste were already reported for sweet proteins, both MNEI (Di Monaco et al, ) and thaumatin (Asakura et al, ), and it is due to a strong interaction of these proteins with the taste buds. This property could negatively affect consumer liking; therefore, it should be avoided or reduced in some way, even if it should be verified.…”

Temporal sweetness profile of MNEI protein in gelled model systems

“…The MNEI, mutant single‐chain monellin, was produced in E. Coli and purified, following the experimental protocol of Rega et al ().As gelling agent agar powder E406 (A.C.E.F s.p.a., Fiorenzuola d'Arda, Italy) was used. Simple gel samples were prepared at three agar concentrations (1, 1.5, and 2% w/w) for each sweetener, at the iso‐sweet concentration, according to Di Monaco et al () (Table ). Agar powder was dispersed in water at 90°C, agitated through a magnetic stirrer (Mod F60, FALC Instruments s.r.l., Italy) at 3.5 rpm and heated up to 95°C.…”

“…Recently, we have performed several studies (Di Monaco et al, ; Di Monaco, Miele, Volpe, Picone, & Cavella, ; Rega et al, ) to characterize the sweetness perception of MNEI protein and to compare it with commercial sweeteners, focusing on MNEI sweetness in liquid matrix. However, since both sweeteners and hydrocolloids are largely used ingredients in food industry, contributing to both functional and sensory properties, it is necessary to extend these studies to semisolid or solid media.…”

Comparison of Temporal Profiles among Sucrose, Sucralose, and Acesulfame Potassium after Swallowing Sweetened Coffee Beverages and Sweetened Water Solutions

“…The temporal profiles of currently used non-nutritive sweeteners are not consistent with that of sucrose [12]. When investigating the temporal profiles of sensory attributes (i.e., sweetness) of water solutions and beverages, the measurement method used most frequently is a time-intensity evaluation [13,14].…”