Bitterness

The effect of isodonal (71), nodosin (66), enmein (62), oridonin (32), and umbrosin A (1) on oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria isolated from rat liver, silkworm midgut, and termite ovaries was investigated. All compounds exhibited an inhibitory effect, except for umbrosin A (1) which had no activity in mitochondria isolated from insect. The active site was also associated with the a-methylenecyclopentanone system 135, 148, 149). 

A qualitative theory on the relationship between bitterness and chemical structures of bitter Rabdosia diterpenoids has been proposed 143). To be bitter a substance must have at least one bitter unit it consists of a hard acid and a hard base which are located within 1.5 A of each other so that intramolecular hydrogen-bonding is possible. Cleavage of this hydrogen bond and concomitant formation of a new hydrogen bond to the receptor site are responsible for bitterness 150). For instance, isodonal (71) which possesses an a-orientated 11-OH is very bitter, while trichodonin (70), its 11 P-epimer, is not. In bitter isodonal, the distance between the 11-hydroxy proton, the donor proton, and the 6-aldehydic oxygen, the proton acceptor, is ca. 1 A, while in tasteless trichodonin it is ca. 3 A. 

On the Asiatic Species of the Genus Rabdosia (Labiatae). J. Japan Bot. (Shokubutsu Kenkyu Sasshi) 47, 198 (1972). 

On Plectranthin , a Bitter Principle Derived from Plectranthus glaucocalyx Maxim, var. japonicus Maxim. J. Kyoto Med. Soc. 7, 30 (1910). 

Tanabe, S., and H. Nishikawa Screening Tests for Antibiotic Action of Plant Extracts Jpn. J. Bact. 9, 475 (1954). 

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Me2NCH2) C2H5)(Me)C-OOC Ph-HCI. Colourless crystalline powder with a bitter taste, m.p. 177-179"C. Prepared by the action of ethyl magnesium bromide on dimethyl-aminoaceione. It is a local anaesthetic, mainly used to produce spinal anaesthesia. 

C8H10N4O2. An alkaloid occurring in tea, coffee and guarana, from which it may be prepared by extraction, It is also manufactured by the methylation of theobromine and by the condensation of cyanoacetic acid with urea. Crystallizes with H2O or anhydrous from organic solvents. M.p. (anhydrous) 235"C, sublimes at 176 C. Odourless, and with a very bitter taste. Caffeine acts as a stimulant and diuretic, and is a constituent of cola drinks, tea and coffee. 

CfiHi 05 0 C6H4 CH20H. Colourless, bitter crystals, m.p. 20 PC soluble in water and alcohol, insoluble in chloroform. It occurs in the leaves, bark and twigs of species of willow and poplar. On oxidation with dilute nitric acid it is converted into helicin, the glucoside of salicylaldehyde, which has been made the starting point of further syntheses. Gives populin with benzoyl chloride. 

Benzaldehyde, C HjCHO, and salicylaldehyde, HOC3H4CHO, are liquids insoluble in water. Benzaldehyde has a characteristic odour of bitter almonds salicylaldehyde has a faint but also characteristic odour, resembling that of phenol. Salicylaldehyde stains the skin yellow. 

D) Nitriles. Acetonitrile, CH3CN, b.p. 82°, is miscible with water, but benzonitrile, CaHjCN, b.p. 191, is insoluble. Acetonitrile, unless specially purified, retains the mouse like odour of acetamide benzonitrile has an odour resembling both that of benzaldchyde and of nitrobenzene (bitter almonds). 

Physical Properties. Nitrobenzene, C HjNOj pale yellow liquid, insoluble in and heavier than water, characteristic odour of bitter almonds, (similar to that of benzaldehyde and benzonitrile). /> Nitro toluene, C,H4(CH3)N02, usually pale yellow solid, insoluble in water, m-Dinitrobenzene, C8H4(N02)g, colourless solid when pure, but often pale yellow insoluble in water. 

As the norbornyl ion controversy evolved, it became a highly public and frequently very personal and bitter pnblic debate. Saul Winstein suddenly died in the fall of 1969, shortly after the Salt Lake City sym-posinm. To my regret, I seemed to have inherited his role in repre-... 

After completion of the award ceremony in the Concert Hall we were driven to the city hall for the Nobel banquet. By this time it was a bitterly cold, windy evening. The courtyard of the city hall was lighted by the torches of hundreds of school children lining it. It was a most impressive sight, but we felt sorry for the children, who must have braved the weather for a long while. 

BENZALDEHYDE The precursor for speed. It makes up nearly 100% of bitter almond oil. Not a very popular oil with the DEA. Some hints Benzaldehyde is indispensable for the flavoring industry. It is the flavor in almond extract and synthetic benzaldehyde is used in all cherry flavorings. Also, there is currently a little loophole in the system when it comes to a product called Roasted Cassia Oil . Apparently, some manufacturers take cassia oil and run it through some sort of industrial process to change it into benzaldehyde. No one wanted to tell Strike the particulars of how this was done. But one company chemist gave me some hints (You can get really chatty with some of these guys). 

The yield here is 80-90%. No, that is not bullshit This method has not been given the proper credit it deserves and sometimes has been dismissed without due process. Does Strike sound defensive You bet Strike has been in the science game for a long time and knows that bitterness, doubt and contempt abound. But that s ok, because those who do not use this method simply get hammered by those who do ... 

Bitrex Bitter acids Bitter ale Bitter almond oil Bitter bark Bitter magnet... 

Acetamide [60-35-5] C2H NO, mol wt 59.07, is a white, odorless, hygroscopic soHd derived from acetic acid and ammonia. The stable crystalline habit is trigonal the metastable is orthorhombic. The melt is a solvent for organic substances it is used ia electrochemistry and organic synthesis. Pure acetamide has a bitter taste. Unknown impurities, possibly derived from acetonitrile, cause its mousy odor (1). It is found ia coal mine waste dumps (2). 

Human perception creates difficulty ia the characterization of flavor people often, if not always, perceive flavors differently due to both psychological and physiological factors. For example, certain aryl thiocarbamates, eg, phenylthiocarbamide, taste exceedingly bitter to some people and are almost tasteless to others (5). This difference is genetically determined, and the frequency of its occurrence differs from one population to another 40% of U.S. Caucasians are nontasters, whereas only 3% of the Korean population caimot perceive the strong bitter taste of the aryl thiocarbamates (6). Similar differences were found ia the sense of smell for compounds such as menthol, carvone, and ethyl butyrate (7). 

Sensory perception is both quaUtative and quantitative. The taste of sucrose and the smell of linalool are two different kinds of sensory perceptions and each of these sensations can have different intensities. Sweet, bitter, salty, fmity, floral, etc, are different flavor quaUties produced by different chemical compounds the intensity of a particular sensory quaUty is deterrnined by the amount of the stimulus present. The saltiness of a sodium chloride solution becomes more intense if more of the salt is added, but its quaUty does not change. However, if hydrochloric acid is substituted for sodium chloride, the flavor quahty is sour not salty. For this reason, quaUty is substitutive, and quantity, intensity, or magnitude is additive (13). The sensory properties of food are generally compHcated, consisting of many different flavor quaUties at different intensities. The first task of sensory analysis is to identify the component quahties and then to determine their various intensities. 

A persistent idea is that there is a very small number of flavor quaUties or characteristics, called primaries, each detected by a different kind of receptor site in the sensory organ. It is thought that each of these primary sites can be excited independently but that some chemicals can react with more than one site producing the perception of several flavor quaUties simultaneously (12). Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami quaUties are generally accepted as five of the primaries for taste sucrose, hydrochloric acid, sodium chloride, quinine, and glutamate, respectively, are compounds that have these primary tastes. Sucrose is only sweet, quinine is only bitter, etc saccharin, however, is slightly bitter as well as sweet and its Stevens law exponent is 0.8, between that for purely sweet (1.5) and purely bitter (0.6) compounds (34). There is evidence that all compounds with the same primary taste characteristic have the same psychophysical exponent even though they may have different threshold values (24). The flavor of a complex food can be described as a combination of a smaller number of flavor primaries, each with an associated intensity. A flavor may be described as a vector in which the primaries make up the coordinates of the flavor space. 

Table 2 Hsts examples of compounds with taste and their associated sensory quaUties. Sour taste is primarily produced by the presence of hydrogen ion slightly modified by the types of anions present in the solution, eg, acetic acid is more sour than citric acid at the same pH or molar concentration (43). Saltiness is due to the salts of alkaU metals, the most common of which is sodium chloride. However, salts such as cesium chloride and potassium iodide are bitter potassium bromide has a mixed taste, ie, salty and bitter (44). Thus saltiness, like sourness, is modified by the presence of different anions but is a direct result of a small number of cations.

Several aspects affect the extent and character of taste and smell. People differ considerably in sensitivity and appreciation of smell and taste, and there is lack of a common language to describe smell and taste experiences. A hereditary or genetic factor may cause a variation between individual reactions, eg, phenylthiourea causes a bitter taste sensation which may not be perceptible to certain people whose general abiUty to distinguish other tastes is not noticeably impaired (17). The variation of pH in saUva, which acts as a buffer and the charge carrier for the depolarization of the taste cell, may influence the perception of acidity differently in people (15,18). Enzymes in saUva can cause rapid chemical changes in basic food ingredients, such as proteins and carbohydrates, with variable effects on the individual. 

When food contains both sweet and bitter substances, the temporal pattern of reception, ie, the order in which sweet and bitter tastes are perceived, affects the total quaUtative evaluation. This temporal effect is caused by the physical location of taste buds. The buds responding to sweet are located on the surface and the tip of the tongue, the bitter in grooves toward the rear. Therefore, the two types of taste buds can be activated sequentially. 

Simultaneous stimulation of the tongue with the appHcation of different taste stimuli produces an interaction, modification, or blending of the stimuli in some instances but not in others. Warm and cold sensations are reported to act similarly on the tongue in two groups bitter, warm, and sweet and sour, cold, and salty (24). The theory of the specificity of the taste buds may be subject to modification (25). 

Only salts are salty however, not all salts are salty. Some are sweet, bitter, or tasteless. The salty taste is exhibited by ionized salts, and the greatest contribution to salty taste comes from the cations (29). The salt taste is produced by monovalent cations (15). 

Organic aromatic molecules are usually sweet, bitter, a combination of these, or tasteless, probably owing to lack of water solubiUty. Most characteristic taste substances, especially salty and sweet, are nonvolatile compounds. Many different types of molecules produce the bitter taste, eg, divalent cations, alkaloids, some amino acids, and denatoirium (14,15). 

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