Homoeriodictyol is a bitter-masking

flavanone The flavanones, a type of flavonoids, are various aromatic, colorless ketones derived from flavone that often occur in plants as glycosides. List of flavanones * Blumeatin * Butin * Eriodictyol * Hesperetin * Hesperidin * Homoeriodictyol * Iso ...

extracted from Yerba Santa (''

Eriodictyon californicum ''Eriodictyon californicum'' is a species of plant within the family Boraginaceae. It is also known as yerba santa (sacred herb), mountain balm, bear's weed, gum bush, gum plant, and consumptive weed.Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz.Yerba Santa ...

'') a plant growing in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Homoeriodictyol (3`-methoxy-4`,5,7-trihydroxyflavanone) is one of the 4 flavanones identified by Symrise in this plant eliciting taste-modifying property: homoeriodictyol sodium salt,

eriodictyol Eriodictyol is a bitter-masking flavanone, a flavonoid extracted from yerba santa (''Eriodictyon californicum''), a plant native to North America. Eriodictyol is one of the four flavanones identified in this plant as having taste-modifying proper ...

and sterubin. Homoeriodictyol Sodium salt elicited the most potent bitter-masking activity by reducing from 10 to 40% the bitterness of

salicin Salicin is an alcoholic β-glucoside. Salicin is produced in (and named after) willow (''Salix'') bark. It is a biosynthetic precursor to salicylaldehyde. Medicinal aspects Salicin is found in the bark of and leaves of willows, poplars and va ...

amarogentin Amarogentin is a chemical compound found in gentian (''Gentiana lutea'') or in ''Swertia chirata''. Gentian root has a long history of use as a herbal bitter in the treatment of digestive disorders and is an ingredient of many proprietary medic ...

paracetamol Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a medication used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. Common brand names include Tylenol and Panadol. At a standard dose, paracetamol only slightly decreases body temperature; it is inferior ...

and

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cr ...

. However no bitter-masking activity was detected with bitter

linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula COOH(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are cis-trans isomerism, ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt (chem ...

emulsions. According to Symrise's scientists homoeriodictyol sodium salt seems to be a taste-modifier with large potential in

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

applications and

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

s. Structural relatives investigation based on eriodictyol and homoeriodictyol, found 2,4-Dihydroxybenzoic acid vanillylamide to elicits bitter-masking activity. At 0.1g/L, this

vanillin Vanillin is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a phenolic aldehyde. Its functional groups include aldehyde, hydroxyl, and ether. It is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean. Synthetic vanillin is now used ...

derivative, was able to reduce the bitterness of a 0.5g/L

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...

solution by about 30%.

References

{{Flavanone O-methylated flavanones Bitter-masking compounds Taste modifiers Physiology Resorcinols