[Relationships between structure and sweet taste of amino acids (author's transl)].

90 amino acids, derivatives of amino acids and other related compounds were tested for their taste quality. The taste thresholds of 35 sweet compounds were determined. From these data some relationships between structure and taste are derived. Essential for sweet taste are the ammonium and carboxylate groups as a bipolar (nucleophile/electrophile) contact unit. The intensity of taste depends on length, shape and polarity of the side chain. Definite conditions in respect to the relative position of the groups to each other must be fulfilled. It is shown by superposition of the steric formulas of selected amino acids, that the binding site of the receptor probably is a hydrophobic tube with a bipolar contact point at one end.