Increasing the content of chemoprotective compounds in plant food is a potent dietary option for the prevention of diseases and a challenge for the design of novel food. However, the consumer rejects food rich in these bitter tasting phytonutrients thereby promoting their removal during breeding and food processing. The development of bitter masking agents could circumvent this problem, but require a detailed understanding of the interaction of bitter compounds with their receptors on the human tongue, which, however, has not been achieved yet. We use gene cloning, cell based functional expression systems and human psychophysics to identify and characterize human bitter taste receptors. We demonstrate that hTAS2R16 and hTAS2R10 are receptors for various bitter glycosides and the alkaloid strychnine, respectively. Our data facilitate predictions about structural requirements conditional for receptor-agonist interactions and enable us to search for bitter blocking activities.
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