Development of a purification protocol guided by bitter taste receptor activation and sensory analysis to isolate new taste-active compounds in barrel-aged wines

Wine sensory quality is strongly dependent on oak wood ageing, as it can occasionally increase the perception of bitterness. This sensory phenomenon is due to the release of non-volatile molecules from wood. The search for such bitter compounds, requires both reliable purification tools and powerful identification techniques. The aim of this work was to propose the development of an original inductive approach, using separative techniques, sensory analysis and human bitter taste receptor activation, to discover new taste-active molecules. This new methodology was implemented on oak wood extracts to isolate and purify bitter compounds. By using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), a new galloyl glucopyranosyl compound, named GG-DMC, was elucidated for the first time. Its bitter properties were validated by receptor activation and sensory analysis in two matrices. These findings demonstrated the relevance and the effectiveness of the developed strategy.