An overview of the perception and mitigation of astringency associated with phenolic compounds

Astringency, as a kind of puckering, drying, or rough sensation, is widely perceived from natural foods, especially plants rich in phenolic compounds. Although the interaction and precipitation of salivary proteins by phenolic compounds was often believed as the major mechanism of astringency, a def...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety 2021-01, Vol.20 (1), p.1036-1074
Main Authors: Huang, Rui, Xu, Changmou
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
astringency mechanism
astringency mitigation
astringency perception
Astringents
Cell activation
Chemoreceptors
Drying
Epithelial cells
Food plants
Mechanoreceptors
Oxidation
Perception
Perceptions
Phenolic compounds
phenolic structures
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Astringency, as a kind of puckering, drying, or rough sensation, is widely perceived from natural foods, especially plants rich in phenolic compounds. Although the interaction and precipitation of salivary proteins by phenolic compounds was often believed as the major mechanism of astringency, a definitive theory about astringency is still lacking due to the complex oral sensations. The interaction with oral epithelial cells and the activation of trigeminal chemoreceptors and mechanoreceptors also shed light on some of the phenolic astringency mechanisms, which complement the insufficient mechanism of interaction with salivary proteins. Since phenolic compounds with different types and structures show different astringency thresholds in a certain regularity, there might be some relationships between the phenolic structures and perceived astringency. On the other hand, novel approaches to reducing the unfavorable perception of phenolic astringency have been increasingly emerging; however, the according summary is still sparse. Therefore, this review aims to: (a) illustrate the possible mechanisms of astringency elicited by phenolic compounds, (b) reveal the possible relationships between phenolic structures and perception of astringency, and (c) summarize the emerging mitigation approaches to astringency triggered by phenolic compounds. This comprehensive review would be of great value to both the understanding of phenolic astringency and the finding of appropriate mitigation approaches to phenolic astringency in future research.
ISSN:1541-4337
1541-4337
DOI:10.1111/1541-4337.12679