Development of a cell-based quaternary system to unveil the effect of pectic polysaccharides on oral astringency

Phenolic compounds are responsible for food unpleasant taste properties, including astringency, due to their ability to interact with salivary proteins and oral constituents. Astringency is a crucial attribute for consumer's acceptability. To fulfill the demand for both healthy and tasty food, polysaccharides raise as a good alternative to modulate astringency. In this work, a cell-based quaternary system was developed to evaluate the ability of polysaccharides to reduce the interaction between two classes of hydrolysable tannins – gallotannins (tannic acid) and ellagitannins (punicalagin) – and oral constituents (cells, salivary proteins and mucosal pellicle). So, pectic polysaccharide fractions isolated from grape skins, imidazole soluble polysaccharides (ISP) and carbonate soluble polysaccharides (CSP), as well as a commercial pectin, were tested. Results showed that the polysaccharide's effect depends on the structural features of the molecules involved. CSP fraction and pectin were the most effective, reducing the interactions between both tannins and the oral constituents, mainly in the complete oral model. The highest uronic acid content and the presence of free hydroxyl groups could explain their high reduction ability. For tannic acid, the reduction effect increased along with the galloylation degree, while the interaction of β-punicalagin with the oral constituents was practically inhibited at 3.0 mg.mL−1.