Compounds capable of providing trigeminal effects are important to the flavor industry. Cooling agents activate a class of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of 18 cooling agents by high-throughput screening through TRPM-8 and TRPA-1 channels. These coolants were further evaluated by a sensory analysis panel in a sucrose solution testing for a perceived activity. The results reveal that WS-5 activates both TRPA-1 and TRPM-8 receptor channels; WS-3 actives primarily TRPM-8, whereas FEMA-4557 activates the TRPA-1 channel. Sensory evaluation shows that for the same concentration in aqueous solution, the cooling intensity follows the order WS-5 > WS-3 > FEMA-4557 > WS-23. Human sensory perception of cooling intensity correlates better for TRPM-8 than for TRPA-1.
Keywords: TRPA-1; TRPM-8; chewing gum and mints; cooling agent; trigeminal receptor.