A Luminescence-Based Human TRPV1 Assay System for Quantifying Pungency in Spicy Foods

The quantitation of pungency is difficult to achieve using sensory tests because of persistence, accumulation, and desensitization to the perception of pungency. Transient receptor vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), which is a chemosensory receptor, plays a pivotal role in the perception of many pungent compounds...

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Main Authors: Minami Matsuyama, Yuko Terada, Toyomi Yamazaki-Ito, Keisuke Ito
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
Series:Foods
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/1/151
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author Minami Matsuyama
Yuko Terada
Toyomi Yamazaki-Ito
Keisuke Ito
author_facet Minami Matsuyama
Yuko Terada
Toyomi Yamazaki-Ito
Keisuke Ito
author_sort Minami Matsuyama
collection DOAJ
description The quantitation of pungency is difficult to achieve using sensory tests because of persistence, accumulation, and desensitization to the perception of pungency. Transient receptor vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), which is a chemosensory receptor, plays a pivotal role in the perception of many pungent compounds, suggesting that the activity of this receptor might be useful as an index for pungency evaluation. Although Ca<sup>2+</sup>-sensitive fluorescence dyes are commonly used for measuring human TRPV1 (hTRPV1) activity, their application is limited, as foods often contain fluorescent substances that interfere with the fluorescent signals. This study aims to design a new pungency evaluation system using hTRPV1. Instead of employing a fluorescent probe as the Ca<sup>2+</sup> indicator, this assay system uses the luminescent protein aequorin. The luminescence assay successfully evaluated the hTRPV1 activity in foods without purification, even for those containing fluorescent substances. The hTRPV1 activity in food samples correlated strongly with the pungency intensity obtained by the human sensory test. This luminescence-based hTRPV1 assay system will be a powerful tool for objectively quantifying the pungency of spicy foods in both laboratory and industrial settings.
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spelling doaj.art-67bb21e6af5946b89f22501029cc22232023-12-03T13:00:07ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582021-01-0110115110.3390/foods10010151A Luminescence-Based Human TRPV1 Assay System for Quantifying Pungency in Spicy FoodsMinami Matsuyama0Yuko Terada1Toyomi Yamazaki-Ito2Keisuke Ito3Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Graduate School of Integrated Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, JapanDepartment of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Graduate School of Integrated Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, JapanDepartment of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Graduate School of Integrated Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, JapanDepartment of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Graduate School of Integrated Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, JapanThe quantitation of pungency is difficult to achieve using sensory tests because of persistence, accumulation, and desensitization to the perception of pungency. Transient receptor vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), which is a chemosensory receptor, plays a pivotal role in the perception of many pungent compounds, suggesting that the activity of this receptor might be useful as an index for pungency evaluation. Although Ca<sup>2+</sup>-sensitive fluorescence dyes are commonly used for measuring human TRPV1 (hTRPV1) activity, their application is limited, as foods often contain fluorescent substances that interfere with the fluorescent signals. This study aims to design a new pungency evaluation system using hTRPV1. Instead of employing a fluorescent probe as the Ca<sup>2+</sup> indicator, this assay system uses the luminescent protein aequorin. The luminescence assay successfully evaluated the hTRPV1 activity in foods without purification, even for those containing fluorescent substances. The hTRPV1 activity in food samples correlated strongly with the pungency intensity obtained by the human sensory test. This luminescence-based hTRPV1 assay system will be a powerful tool for objectively quantifying the pungency of spicy foods in both laboratory and industrial settings.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/1/151pungency evaluationTRPV1luminescence assayspicy foodsflavor evaluation
spellingShingle Minami Matsuyama
Yuko Terada
Toyomi Yamazaki-Ito
Keisuke Ito
A Luminescence-Based Human TRPV1 Assay System for Quantifying Pungency in Spicy Foods
Foods
pungency evaluation
TRPV1
luminescence assay
spicy foods
flavor evaluation
title A Luminescence-Based Human TRPV1 Assay System for Quantifying Pungency in Spicy Foods
title_full A Luminescence-Based Human TRPV1 Assay System for Quantifying Pungency in Spicy Foods
title_fullStr A Luminescence-Based Human TRPV1 Assay System for Quantifying Pungency in Spicy Foods
title_full_unstemmed A Luminescence-Based Human TRPV1 Assay System for Quantifying Pungency in Spicy Foods
title_short A Luminescence-Based Human TRPV1 Assay System for Quantifying Pungency in Spicy Foods
title_sort luminescence based human trpv1 assay system for quantifying pungency in spicy foods
topic pungency evaluation
TRPV1
luminescence assay
spicy foods
flavor evaluation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/1/151
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AT yukoterada aluminescencebasedhumantrpv1assaysystemforquantifyingpungencyinspicyfoods
AT toyomiyamazakiito aluminescencebasedhumantrpv1assaysystemforquantifyingpungencyinspicyfoods
AT keisukeito aluminescencebasedhumantrpv1assaysystemforquantifyingpungencyinspicyfoods
AT minamimatsuyama luminescencebasedhumantrpv1assaysystemforquantifyingpungencyinspicyfoods
AT yukoterada luminescencebasedhumantrpv1assaysystemforquantifyingpungencyinspicyfoods
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