THE EFFECT OF THE SWEETNESS INHIBITOR 2-(-4-METHOXYPHENOXY) PROPANOICACID (SODIUM-SALT) (NA-PMP) ON THE TASTE OF BITTER-SWEET STIMULI

The effect of the sweetness inhibitor 2(-4-methoxyphenoxy)propanoic ac id (sodium salt) (Na-PMP) on the taste and temporal properties of a ra nge of bitter-sweet stimuli was determined using a trained sensory pan el. Na-PMP was found to be an effective inhibitor of the sweetness res ponse of ail stimuli tested, reducing both sweetness intensity and per sistence. The inhibitor was found to be specific to sweet taste, no re duction in bitterness intensity or persistence was observed at the con centrations of Na-PMP employed in this study. The results therefore do not support the claim of Fuller and Kurtz (1991), that Na-PMP is a po tent bitterness inhibitor, but rather support the existence of two dis tinct receptor sites/loci in sweet and bitter chemoreception.