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Preface Flavor is the simultaneous stimulation of the human senses (odor and taste) and is triggered by distinct molecules occurring in our daily foods. Although the consumer acceptance of foods is strongly influenced by both the aroma-active volatiles as well as the nonvolatile, taste-active compounds, flavor research in the past decades focused mainly on the aroma rather than on the taste compounds. Presently, the world of taste research seems to be split into two parts. One focuses on the chemical structures and sensory activities of food taste compounds. Recent advances in coupling high-performance liquid chromatography with human sensory analysis as well as with mass spectrometric and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy have strongly improved our understanding of the importance of single tastants for overall food quality. Nevertheless, relatively little attention has been paid to the tastants that are not present in the foods per se, but that are generated during food processing from taste-less precursors. The other, more biochemically orientated research party, puts its research effort into the identification of taste receptors, signaling molecules, and transduction pathways on the protein as well as the gene level. Molecular-biological investigations as well as recent developments in sensory science have greatly improved our knowledge of physiology and the mechanism of human taste perception. Unfortunately, the interchanges between these two disciplines of taste research are far away from being satisfactory. The two day symposium Taste Research: Chemical and Physiological Aspects, held at the 224 National American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, August 2002, was, therefore, intended to bring together the leading scientists of both parties from academia and industry and to provide a forum for discussion between researchers investigating the biochemistry, genetics, and physiology of human taste transductionperception; chemists focusing on the identification and structure-activity relationships of the key compounds involved in the taste of our foods; and more applied industrial researchers who are interested in human sensory analysis, in taste-aroma interactions and in the possibilities of how to technologically optimize tastant formation during food processing. This book covers the breakthrough research and highlights of th
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In Challenges in Taste Chemistry and Biology; Hofmann, T., et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2003.
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that symposium, which will give us a more comprehensive understanding of human taste perception. The chapters of this book will be of interest to food chemists, food processing companies, flavor houses, sensory analysts, and those focused on the physiological mechanisms of taste transduction and taste modification such as biochemists or pharmacists. The editors acknowledge with great appreciation financial support from the A C S Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Dragoco, International Flavors and Fragrances, Nestle, and Procter & Gamble. We also thank the A C S Books Department for encouraging this publication. Finally, we thank all the authors for their contributions and cooperation in the preparation of this book.
Thomas Hofmann Institut für Lebensmittelchemie Universität Münster Corrensstrasse 45 D-48149 Münster Germany
[email protected] Chi-Tang Ho Department of Food Science Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New Brunswick, N J 08901
[email protected] Wilhelm Pickenhagen Dragoco Gerberding and Company A G Corporate Research Division Dragocostrasse D-37603 Holzminden Germany
[email protected] xii In Challenges in Taste Chemistry and Biology; Hofmann, T., et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2003.
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Challenges in Taste Chemistry and Biology
In Challenges in Taste Chemistry and Biology; Hofmann, T., et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2003.
