Creatine, taste

One of the earlier recorded observations indicating that people s taste reactions for a particular chemical substance may not by any means be uniform was made with respect to creatine, which was found to be quite tasteless to some individuals but bitter and biting to others.34 About the same time it was found that individuals vary in their ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and related compounds.35 To most it is either violently bitter or completely tasteless. A small minority however, assign to it various other tastes.36,37,38... 

One might suppose on the basis of the amount of attention PTC has received that it is quite a unique substance in its ability to elicit different responses from different individuals. Actually this is not the case at all since wide interindividual differences in taste threshold and taste reactions can be observed with almost anything that can be tasted. Hundred-fold variations in taste thresholds are very common (even when small groups are studied) with respect to substances like sodium or potassium chlorides or hydrochloric acid.41 Saccharine, quinine, cascara, and mannose are among the substances, in addition to creatine mentioned above, for which individuals are known to show highly diverse taste reactions.42 Richter found some children who could not taste 20 per cent sugar solutions.43... 

Creatine is sold in powdered, liquid, tablet, capsule, and chewing-gum formulations. The most popular formulation of creatine is creatine monohydrate, which is also the creatine formula that has been most extensively tested in clinical studies. Pure creatine monohydrate is a white, odorless, crystal powder with a faintly sweet taste. Other variations of creatine supplements are available, including creatine citrate and creatine phosphate. However, the clinical data on the effectiveness of these formulas is limited. 

It crystallizes in colorless, ttausparent prisms very soluble in water spanngly soluble in alcohol and ether. Its aqueous solution is not acid, and has a sweetish taste it unites with acids to form ciystalline salts, but does not form metallic salts. It is capable of combiuiug with cyanamide to form creatine. 

Lipid oxidation products and their reaction products with amino acids (proteins) have a considerable influence on the typical odour and taste of meat. Particularly significant aminocarboxylic acids include glutamic acid, alanine, threonine and lysine, guanidine compounds (creatine and creatinine), quaternary ammonium compounds (choline and carnitine), peptides (P-alanylhistidine peptides and some products of proteolysis), free nucleotides, nucleosides and their bases (especially inosine 5 -monophosphate, IMP), proteins, carboxylic acids (especially lactic acid), sugars (mainly glucose, fructose and their phosphates, ribose formed by hydrolysis of free nucleotides) and some vitamins (especially thiamine). Some of these compounds, such as glutamic acid and IMP, are additionally used as food additives, namely as flavour enhancers. 

Identification of Taste-Modulating Creatine Glycation Products in Thermally... 

Some compounds present In vertebrate tissues are relatively Inactive on cat taste systems. Various organic acids such as lactic, pyruvic and levullnic are Inactive In the proton acceptor form In which they commonly occur. Various polyamines (spermine, putresdne, etc.) are of widespread occurrence but tend to inhibit group II neurons. Sugars (glucose, fructose, etc.) are Inactive In the cat. The compounds creatine and creatinine, of common occurrence In vertebrate tissues, excite no neurons and Inhibit group II units. 

Off-flavor or bitterness is usually reported for compounds such as creatine, creatinine and nucleotide bases. A mixture of several different types of compounds has been reported necessary to reconstruct meat flavors. This chemical complexity suggests that different sensory systems are being activated. Many of these compounds appear to exert their effects through human geniculate ganglion taste systems others obviously stimulate other oral chemoresponsive systems. 

---