Synthesis and Structure−Activity Relationships of Sweet 2-Benzoylbenzoic Acid Derivatives

Twenty-four analogues of the sweet compound 2-(4-methoxybenzoyl)benzoic acid 1 were synthesized and tasted. The structure−sweet taste relationships were studied by means of principal component analysis and by comparison with the existing sweet receptor models. Three possible glucophores were identified, which could correspond to the sites B, E1, and E2 of the Tinti−Nofre model. Some similarities between this class of compounds and isovanillic sweeteners were found. Keywords: Sweetness; SAR (structure−activity relationships); taste