Scientists Told How The Bitter Components Of Coffee Can Act On The Body

Scientists told how the bitter components of coffee can act on the body

The authors of the study focused on the functions of taste buds that are able to perceive coffee bitterness.

Study authors Tatiana Lang, Mike Behrens and the TAS2R43 receptor model / Photo: leibniz-lsb.de

The most famous bitter ingredient in coffee is caffeine. But not only this invigorating substance is responsible for the peculiar bitterness of the drink. In a new study, German scientists described the properties of several other coffee ingredients. A scientific paper on how coffee interacts with receptors that perceive bitter taste, scientists have published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

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Scientists used "artificial tongue" (a test system that contains cells with taste buds) to learn more about the five different bitter ingredients in coffee. In addition to such well-known substances as caffeine, cafeestol and caveol, they investigated the mozambioside of Arabica beans and bengalenzene, which is formed when they are roasted.

It turned out that out of 25 specific receptors capable of reacting to bitterness, two of the 25 specific receptors in coffee react to bitter components. Caffeine was required in higher concentrations than the other four to trigger the receptor response.

An interesting finding is that one of the bitter components has the potential to reduce bitterness. This can happen when caveolus, which has a less bitter taste, binds to receptors and prevents other substances with a more intense taste from binding to them. Caveol is primarily found in unfiltered drinks.

Scientists have also found that the bitter components of coffee have the potential to stimulate gastric acid production. The two bitterness receptors mentioned in this study are present not only in the oral cavity, but also in the gastric mucosa. In the future, the authors of the study want to know what the role of the bitter substances contained in coffee is in regulating digestion.

Due to genetic characteristics, some people may not have one of the receptors that respond to coffee bitterness. Scientists point out that this may be one of the reasons why people perceive bitter taste in general and the taste of coffee in particular differently.