Diphenhydramine, a sedating antihistamine, is an agonist of human bitter taste receptor 14 (hTAS2R14). Diphenhydramine hydrochloride (DPH) was used as a model bitter medicine to evaluate whether the umami dipeptides (Glu-Glu and Asp-Asp) and their constituent amino acids (Glu, Asp) could suppress its bitterness intensity, as measured by human gustatory sensation testing and using the artificial taste sensor. Various concentrated (0.001-5.0 mM) Glu-Glu, Asp-Asp, Glu and Asp significantly suppressed the taste sensor output of 0.5 mM DPH solution in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of umami dipeptides and their constituent amino acids was tending to be ranked as follows, Asp-Asp > Glu-Glu >> Gly-Gly, and Asp > Glu >> Gly (control) respectively. Whereas human bitterness intensity of 0.5 mM DPH solution with various concentrated (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 mM) Glu-Glu, Asp-Asp, Glu and Asp all significantly reduced bitterness intensity of 0.5 mM DPH solution even though no statistical difference was observed among four substances. The taste sensor outputs and the human gustatory sensation test results showed a significant correlation. A surface plasmon resonance study using hTAS2R14 protein and these substances suggested that the affinity of Glu-Glu, Asp-Asp, Glu and Asp for hTAS2R14 protein was greater than that of Gly-Gly or Gly. The results of docking-simulation studies involving DPH, Glu-Glu and Asp-Asp with hTAS2R14, suggested that DPH is able to bind to a space near the binding position of Glu-Glu and Asp-Asp. In conclusion, the umami dipeptides Glu-Glu and Asp-Asp, and their constituent amino acids, can all efficiently suppress the bitterness of DPH.
Keywords: docking simulation; human bitterness-suppressing agent; surface plasmon resonance study; taste sensor; umami-peptide.