FAMILY OF LOW-CALORIC SWEETENERS--3-D STRUCTURES

大多数低热量甜味剂是合成的有机化合物， 糖精和甜蜜素，或者最近，生物化学品， 甜菜碱，二肽。他们的口味特点不容易 改变或修改。由于需要大量的材料来引出一个 甜味的感觉，消费量高到足以保证 谨慎使用。此外，他们的可能性 在食品加工过程中转化为其他安全性较低的产品 化合物也减缓了它们的普遍接受。 Thaeolins是一类天然蛋白质，具有甜味， 比糖强一千倍该基因已被克隆， 在INGENE开发的表达系统。通过随机突变，超过一个 已经表达了数百种改变的蛋白质并进行了味道测试。许多 特征已经被识别和评分，例如持久性， 后味和稳定性。 天然蛋白质和每种突变形式的结构将在本文中描述。 在Cryschem测定，以阐明结构-功能 关系映射影响对神经元的感知的索马甜结构域 甜味还提供了对甜味结构的深入了解 受体的基于这些结构，第二代蛋白质甜味剂 可以设计出具有特定的期望特性。

Most low-caloric sweeteners are synthetic organic compounds like saccharine and cyclamate or more recently, biochemicals such as aspartame, a dipeptide. Their taste characteristics are not easily altered or modified. Due to the quantity of material required to elicit a sweet taste sensation, the amount consumed is high enough to warrant caution concerning their use. In addition, the possibility of their conversion during the processing of the food product to other less safe compounds has also slowed their general acceptance. Thaumatins are a class of natural proteins with a sweet taste many thousand fold more intense than sugar. The gene has been cloned and an expression system developed at INGENE. By random mutation, over one hundred altered proteins have been expressed and taste tested. Many characteristics have been identified and scored, such as persistence, after-taste and stability. The structure of the native protein and each of the mutant forms will be determined at Cryschem in order to elucidate the structure-function relations. Mapping the thaumatin domains that influence the perception of sweetness also provides insight into the structure of the sweet taste receptor. Based on these structures, second generation protein sweeteners with specific desirable characteristics can be designed.