Unveiling plant protein astringency perception through neural and cellular responses

Abstract

Abstract While consumption of plant proteins providing nutritional, social and climate solutions to feed a growing population in a healthy and sustainable manner is unquestionable, astringency remains a persistent yet underestimated organoleptic challenge. This longstanding issue, contributing to a sensation of dryness, serves as a major bottleneck in the development of plant-based foods with broad consumer acceptance. Here, we investigate experimentally the origin of astringency in plant proteins probing sensory, neural, and cellular responses. Strikingly, by combining sensory profiling with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and saliva and mucin-coated oral epithelium-mimicking cell lines, we identify that plant protein astringency demonstrates a distinct prefrontal cortex neural response and is associated with salivary mucin-binding, drawing parallels to tannin-like responses. Our mechanistic dissection fuelled by in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo experimental studies pinpoints direct quantitative evidence uncovering previously uncharacterised astringency of plant proteins, paving the way for solving the sensorial challenges in the era of transitioning towards eco-friendly plant protein-based foods.