Yamashita H, Akabane T, Kurihara Y
R & D Division, Asahi Denka Kogyo Co. Ltd. Tokyo, Japan.
Chem Senses. 1995 Apr;20(2):239-43. doi: 10.1093/chemse/20.2.239.
Curculin elicited a sweet taste. After the sweetness of curculin diminished, application of deionized water or an acid to the tongue induced a sweet taste. The maximum sweetness of curculin itself was equivalent to the sweetness of 0.35 M sucrose. The maximum sweetness induced by 0.02 M citric acid or deionized water after curculin dissolved in a buffer of pH 6.0 was held in mouth for 3 min was also equivalent to that of 0.35 M sucrose. The sweetness induced by deionized water was completely suppressed by the presence of 1 mM CaCl2 or MgCl2, while that induced by an acid was not suppressed by the presence of divalent cations. Based on these results, the mechanism of the taste-modifying activity was discussed. Stability of curculin was examined under various conditions. The taste-modifying activity of curculin was unchanged when curculin was incubated at 50 degrees C for 1 h between pH 3 and 11.
仙茅蛋白能产生甜味。在仙茅蛋白的甜味消退后，将去离子水或酸涂抹在舌头上会诱发甜味。仙茅蛋白本身的最大甜度相当于0.35 M蔗糖的甜度。将溶解于pH 6.0缓冲液中的仙茅蛋白在口中含3分钟后，0.02 M柠檬酸或去离子水诱发的最大甜度也相当于0.35 M蔗糖的甜度。1 mM CaCl2或MgCl2的存在能完全抑制去离子水诱发的甜味，而二价阳离子的存在并不能抑制酸诱发的甜味。基于这些结果，对味觉修饰活性的机制进行了讨论。在各种条件下检测了仙茅蛋白的稳定性。当仙茅蛋白在pH 3至11之间于50℃孵育1小时时，其味觉修饰活性不变。
