SAPID: a Strategy to Analyze Plant Extracts Taste In Depth. Application to the complex tasteof Swertia chirayita (Roxb.) H.Karst.

Bitterness is challenging to analyze due to the diversity of bitter compounds, variability in sensory perception, and its interplay with other tastes. To address this, we developed an untargeted approach to deconvolute the taste and molecular composition of complex plant extracts. We applied our methodology to an ethanolic extract of Swertia chirayita (Roxb.) H.Karst., a plant known for its unique bitterness. Chemical characterization was performed through nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy experiments together with untargeted liquid chromatography-high resolution tandem mass spectrometry analysis coupled to a charged aerosol detector. After clustering the fractions based on chemical similarity, we performed free sensory analysis and classical descriptive analysis on each cluster. Our results confirmed the attribution of bitterness to iridoids and highlighted the role of other important compounds in the overall taste. This method offers a systematic approach to analyzing and enhancing the taste profiles of plant-based beverages. HighlightsO_LIAn untargeted method to analyze in depth plant extracts taste and chemical composition has been developed. C_LIO_LIThe attribution of the bitterness of an ethanolic extract of Swertia chirayita (Roxb.) H.Karst. to well-known bitter major and minor iridoids was confirmed using untargeted methods. C_LIO_LIChemically informed tasting allowed to highlight other less pronounced tastes within the extract, contributing to its overall complexity. C_LIO_LIChemically informed tasting led to interesting insights into the sub-threshold impact on taste and taste modulating properties. C_LI Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=154 SRC="FIGDIR/small/628830v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (30K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b0c4a3org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@3db05aorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@50ddeorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1d16adb_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG