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Infants become increasingly exposed to sweet-tasting foods in their first year of life. However, it is still unclear whether repeated exposure to sweet taste is linked to infants’ sweetness liking during this period. Making use of data from the OPALINE cohort, this study aimed to examine the link between sweetness exposure and sweetness liking during two important periods in early infant feeding: at the start of complementary feeding (3–6 months) and the transition to the family table (10–12 months). Infants’ sweetness exposure was assessed using 7-d food records which were completed by mothers every month (n 312), reporting daily consumption rates of formula/breast milk or complementary food and the type of formula milk and/or complementary foods for each feeding occasion. Infants’ sweetness liking was studied in the laboratory at 3, 6 and 12 months of age by assessing their response to a lactose–water solution and the amount drunk of this solution compared with plain water. Linear regressions and structural equation model assessed associations between exposure to and liking for sweetness at 6 and 12 months. Neither at 6 (n 182) nor at 12 months (n 197) was sweetness exposure associated with sweetness liking. While sweetness liking at 3 months was unrelated to liking at 6 months, the latter predicted sweetness liking at 12 months. These findings demonstrate no association between sweetness exposure at 3 to 12 months and liking at 6 and 12 months despite a sharp increase in sweetness exposure in that period. However, sweetness liking at 6 and 12 months was positively associated.

Reduction or replacement of sucrose while maintaining sweetness in foods is challenging, but today there are many sweeteners with diverse physical and caloric compositions to choose from. The choice of sweetener can be adapted to match reformulation goals whether these are to reduce calories, lower the glycaemic response, provide bulk or meet criteria as a natural ingredient. The current study sought to describe and compare the sweetness intensity dose-response, sweetness growth rate, sweetness potency, and potential for calorie reduction across 16 different sweeteners including sucrose. Sweetness growth rate was defined as the rate of change in sweetness intensity per unit of sweetener concentration. Sweetness potency was defined as the ratio of the concentration of a sweetener to that of sucrose at equivalent sweetness intensity, whereas the potential for calorie reduction is the caloric value of a sweetener compared to sucrose at matched sweetness intensities. Sweeteners were drawn from a range of nutritive saccharide (sucrose, dextrose, fructose, allulose (d-psicose), palatinose (isomaltulose), and a sucrose–allulose mixture), nutritive polyol (maltitol, erythritol, mannitol, xylitol, sorbitol), non-nutritive synthetic (aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose) and non-nutritive natural sweeteners stevia (rebaudioside A), luo han guo (mogroside V). Sweetness intensities of the 16 sweeteners were compared with a sensory panel of 40 participants (n = 40; 28 females). Participants were asked to rate perceived sweetness intensity for each sweetener series across a range of concentrations using psychophysical ratings taken on a general labelled magnitude scale (gLMS). All sweeteners exhibited sigmoidal dose-response behaviours and matched the ‘moderate’ sweetness intensity of sucrose (10% w/v). Fructose, xylitol and sucralose had peak sweetness intensities greater than sucrose at the upper concentrations tested, while acesulfame-K and stevia (rebA) were markedly lower. Independent of sweetener concentration, the nutritive sweeteners had similar sweetness growth rates to sucrose and were greater than the non-nutritive sweeteners. Non-nutritive sweeteners on the other hand had higher potencies relative to sucrose, which decreases when matching at higher sweetness intensities. With the exception of dextrose and palatinose, all sweeteners matched the sweetness intensity of sucrose across the measured range (3.8–25% w/v sucrose) with fewer calories. Overall, the sucrose–allulose mixture, maltitol and xylitol sweeteners were most similar to sucrose in terms of dose-response behaviour, growth rate and potency, and showed the most potential for sugar replacement within the range of sweetness intensities tested.

Abstract Excessive sugar consumption poses significant health risks, driving the food industry to explore effective strategies for sweetness enhancement and sugar reduction. In this review, the physiological basis and molecular mechanism of sweetness perception were first introduced; Then, we summarised the research progress of several sweet-enhancing strategies for sugar reduction and the assessment methods for sweetness in recent years. Key findings and conclusion of this review mainly included: Sweetness perception was initiated by sweet taste receptor binding to sweet molecules, and sweetness intensity could be enhanced through the interactions with odorants, tastants, and receptor modulators. Strategies for sweetness enhancement included multi-sensory integration, sweetness enhancers, and technological interventions, which could amplify the perceived sweetness without compromising taste quality. To evaluate sweetness, emerging evaluation methods—such as in vitro sweet receptor cell models, taste organoid models, and predictive models—offer promising alternatives to traditional sensory evaluation. The objective of this work was to provide a systematic overview of the current sweet-enhancing strategies in the food industry and help us have a better understanding of the theoretical framework for advancing evaluation of sweetness perception. Graphical Abstract Graphical Abstract

When it comes to eating and drinking, multiple factors from diverse sensory modalities have been shown to influence multisensory flavour perception and liking. These factors have heretofore been strictly divided into either those that are intrinsic to the food itself (e.g., food colour, aroma, texture), or those that are extrinsic to it (e.g., related to the packaging, receptacle or external environment). Given the obvious public health need for sugar reduction, the present review aims to compare the relative influences of product-intrinsic and product-extrinsic factors on the perception of sweetness. Evidence of intrinsic and extrinsic sensory influences on sweetness are reviewed. Thereafter, we take a cognitive neuroscience perspective and evaluate how differences may occur in the way that food-intrinsic and extrinsic information become integrated with sweetness perception. Based on recent neuroscientific evidence, we propose a new framework of multisensory flavour integration focusing not on the food-intrinsic/extrinsic divide, but rather on whether the sensory information is perceived to originate from within or outside the body. This framework leads to a discussion on the combinability of intrinsic and extrinsic influences, where we refer to some existing examples and address potential theoretical limitations. To conclude, we provide recommendations to those in the food industry and propose directions for future research relating to the need for long-term studies and understanding of individual differences.

This study explores the effectiveness of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) as an implicit measurement tool for evaluating sweetness intensity and affective value. Thirty-two participants tasted sucrose solutions at concentrations of 0.15 M, 0.3 M, and 0.6 M, while both their neural responses were recorded with a 24-channel fNIRS system and their self-reported assessments of sweetness intensity and affective value were collected. The neural fNIRS data were converted into oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HbR) concentrations using the modified Beer–Lambert Law, and analyzed through univariate activation analysis and multivariable decoding analysis to identify neural activation patterns associated with sweetness perception. The results showed significant activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in response to varying levels of sweetness intensity and affective value, with channels 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 17 consistently activated across all sucrose concentrations. As sweetness concentration increased from 0.15 M to 0.6 M, the number of significantly activated channels rose from seven to eleven, indicating stronger and more widespread neural responses corresponding to higher sweetness intensity. The multivariable decoding analysis further demonstrated the capability of fNIRS in accurately distinguishing positive affective responses, with up to 72.1% accuracy. The moderate positive correlation between explicit self-reports and implicit fNIRS data regarding sweetness intensity further supports the validity of fNIRS as a reliable tool for assessing taste perception. This study highlights the potential of fNIRS in sensory neuroscience, demonstrating its effectiveness in capturing the neural mechanisms underlying sweet taste perception.

Finished with dinner but still craving something sweet? Here's how to trick your brain into feeling satisfied, without always having to reach for a post-meal sweet treat.Internal medicine physician, Harvard Medical School instructor and Ask a Doctor columnist Trisha Pasricha (@trishapasrichamd) explains that diversifying the tastes and flavors in your main meal can curb those unwanted cravings.This content was created independently by The Washington Post and is not influenced by the advertiser and their affiliates. The advertiser had no involvement in the reporting, writing, or editing of this article or video. Presented by Amazon One Medical.

Background Sugar content is an important determinant of fruit sweetness, but details on the complex molecular mechanism underlying fruit sugar accumulation remain scarce. Here, we report the role of sucrose transporter (SUT) family in regulating fruit sugar accumulation in apple. Results Gene-tagged markers were developed to conduct candidate gene-based association study, and an SUT4 member MdSUT4.1 was found to be significantly associated with fruit sugar accumulation. MdSUT4.1 encodes a tonoplast localized protein and its expression level had a negative correlation with fruit sugar content. Overexpression of MdSUT4.1 in strawberry and apple callus had an overall negative impact on sugar accumulation, suggesting that it functions to remobilize sugar out of the vacuole. In addition, MdSUT4.1 is located on chromosomal region harboring a previously reported QTL for sugar content, suggesting that it is a candidate gene for fruit sugar accumulation in apple. Conclusions MdSUT4.1 is involved in the regulation of fruit sugar accumulation in apple. This study is not only helpful for understanding the complex mechanism of fruit sugar accumulation, but it also provides molecular tools for genetic improvement of fruit quality in breeding programs of apple.

To investigate the structural and functional similarities of microbial communities in burnt-sweetness alcoholized tobacco as a function of distance from the equator and their effects on tobacco quality, we sampled alcoholized tobacco from Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China and from Brazil and Zimbabwe, which are also burnt-sweetness-type tobacco producing regions, and performed high-throughput sequencing of tobacco bacterial and fungal communities along with an analysis of the main chemical constituents of the tobacco to analyze differences in the quality of the tobacco and similarities in the structure of the microbial communities. The total nitrogen, nicotine and starch contents of Chenzhou tobacco were greater than those of Brazilian and Zimbabwean tobacco, and the total sugar and reducing sugar contents of the Brazilian and Zimbabwean tobacco were greater than those of the Chenzhou tobacco ( P  < 0.05). The alpha diversity indices of the bacterial communities in Chenzhou tobacco were lower than those in the Brazilian and Zimbabwean tobacco, and the alpha diversity indices of the fungal communities in Chenzhou tobacco were greater than those in the Brazilian and Zimbabwean tobacco ( P  < 0.05). In the ecological networks, bacterial–fungal interactions in the Brazilian and Zimbabwean tobacco were more complex than those in the Chenzhou tobacco, and the microbial ecological networks of the burnt-sweetness-type tobacco from three different regions were dominated by competitive relationships. The microbial community composition of Chenzhou tobacco was similar to that of Brazilian tobacco at the bacterial genus and fungal phylum level, with Sphingomonas being a significantly enriched genus in Brazilian tobacco and a key genus in the Chenzhou network that is able to participate in the degradation of polyphenols and aromatic compounds. Functional microbes related to aromatic compounds and cellulose degradation were significantly more abundant in the Brazilian and Zimbabwean tobacco than in Chenzhou tobacco, and the related degradation of tobacco substances was responsible for the better quality of the Brazilian and Zimbabwean tobacco. In conclusion, there are similarities in the structure, composition and functional flora of microbial communities in tobacco from Chenzhou and Brazil because these regions have similar latitudinal distributions. This study provides theoretical support for selecting cultivation regions for the burnt-sweetness-type alcoholized tobacco and for the alcoholization of tobacco leaves.

Background Several health organizations recommend lowering the consumption of sweet-tasting foods. The rationale behind this recommendation is that a lower exposure to sweet foods may reduce preferences for sweet tasting foods, thus lowering sugar and energy intake, and in turn aiding in obesity prevention. However, empirical data supporting this narrative are lacking. In fact, relatively little is known about the contribution of long-term sweet taste exposure on one’s sweetness preferences. Methods The primary objective of this randomized controlled trial is to assess the effect of low, regular and high dietary sweetness exposure on preference for sweet foods and beverages, and to compare these effects between intervention groups. One hundred and eighty adults aged 18–65 years with a BMI of 18.5–30.0 kg/m 2 will be recruited and randomly allocated to either: low dietary sweetness exposure (LSE) (10–15% daily energy from sweet tasting foods), regular dietary sweetness exposure (RSE) (25–30% daily energy from sweet tasting foods), or high dietary sweetness exposure (HSE) (40–45% daily energy from sweet tasting foods), for 6 months, followed by a 4-month follow up. Intervention foods are provided ad libitum, covering approximately 50% of the daily number of food items, to include sugar-sweetened, low-calorie-sweetener-sweetened and non-sweet foods. The primary outcome measure is the difference in change in sweetness preference from baseline to 6 months between intervention groups. Secondary outcomes include: change in sweet taste preferences at different time-points; taste intensity perception; behavioral outcomes: food choice and intake, sweet-liker type, food cravings, dietary taste preferences and dietary taste patterns; anthropometric outcomes: body composition, waist-hip circumference, body weight; and biochemical outcomes: glucose variability and biomarkers related to CVD and diabetes. Discussion This study will generate important data on the effect of dietary sweetness exposure on sweetness preferences in terms of effect size and change, duration of change and its impact on food intake, body weight status and associated health outcomes. Trial Registration The study protocol has been registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (ID no. NCT04497974, Registered 4 August 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04497974 ) and approved by Wageningen’s Medical Ethical Committee (ABR no. NL72134).

Fruit characteristics of sweet watermelon are largely the result of human selection. Here we report an improved watermelon reference genome and whole-genome resequencing of 414 accessions representing all extant species in the Citrullus genus. Population genomic analyses reveal the evolutionary history of Citrullus , suggesting independent evolutions in Citrullus amarus and the lineage containing Citrullus lanatus and Citrullus mucosospermus . Our findings indicate that different loci affecting watermelon fruit size have been under selection during speciation, domestication and improvement. A non-bitter allele, arising in the progenitor of sweet watermelon, is largely fixed in C. lanatus . Selection for flesh sweetness started in the progenitor of C. lanatus and continues through modern breeding on loci controlling raffinose catabolism and sugar transport. Fruit flesh coloration and sugar accumulation might have co-evolved through shared genetic components including a sugar transporter gene. This study provides valuable genomic resources and sheds light on watermelon speciation and breeding history. An improved watermelon reference genome and whole-genome resequencing of 414 cultivated and wild accessions provide insights into fruit quality traits and dessert watermelon evolution.