MOLECULAR STRUCTURE AND SWEET TASTE

A structural unit common to sweet-tasting compounds is an AH and a B unit where H is an acidic proton and B is an electronegative atom or center. The distance between the proton and B is about 3 A. There are a variety offunctional groups which satisfy these requirements. In the sugars, this group is the glycol unit, in the gauche conformation, to satisfy the distance requirement. Hence, sugar sweetness varies with either configuration or ring conformation. The probable AH,B unitsfor amino acids and a variety of sweet-tasting organic and inorganic compounds are given. Although there are other chemical featuresassociated with the ability of a compound toelicit sweet taste, the AH,B unit is an essential requirement. © 1969, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.