Monell Chemical Senses Center

United States of America, As Represented by the Secretary of Agriculture

Alexander Bachmanov

Joseph G Brand

Xia Li

Weihua Li

Danielle Reed

Richard D Ashby

Mehmet Hakan Ozdener

Daniel Solaiman

A composition comprising a bitter tastant and at least one sophorolipid and optionally a carrier; wherein the composition is edible and wherein the bitter taste of said bitter tastant is reduced. A method of reducing bitter taste attributed to a bitter tastant in an edible composition, said method comprising adding to said edible composition an effective amount of at least one sophorolipid and optionally a carrier; such that any bitter taste induced by the bitter tastant is reduced.

Compositions containing a bitter tastant and at least one sophorolipid, and methods of reducing bitter taste attributed to a bitter tastant in an edible composition

The present invention relates to the discovery of several genes of the domestic cat () associated with taste perception. The invention provides, inter alia, the nucleotide sequence of the feline Tas1r1, Tas1r2, and Tas1r3 receptor genes, the amino acid sequences of the polypeptides encoded thereby, and antibodies to the polypeptides. The present invention also relates to methods for screening for compounds that modify the genes' function or activity, the compounds identified by such screens, and mimetics of the identified compounds. The invention further provides methods for modifying the taste preferences, ingestive responses, or general behavior of a mammal, such as a cat, by administering compounds that affect the function or activity of the gene or the polypeptide encoded thereby.

Taste receptors of the T1R family from domestic cat

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Philadelphia, PA, United States of America

Alexander Bachmanov