3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid
compound / compound-cholic-acid
コール酸
One of the principal bile acids. Identified as a bitter component of uruka (ayu [sweetfish] entrails preserved in salt).
On this page (7 sections)
Reading the bitterness
Cholic acid is one of the principal bile acids and is inferred to be a principal bitter component of 「うるか」 (in translation: "uruka") (ayu [sweetfish] entrails preserved in salt). A 1982 study conducted a sensory test (6 testers) using a standard cholic acid solution and reported that all testers perceived bitterness at 8×10⁻⁴M. Separate from bitterness, sweetness began to be perceived at 32×10⁻⁴M, demonstrating that sweetness perception emerged at a higher concentration.
The same 1982 study, matching the chemical identification results with the sensory test results, inferred that the principal bitter components in 「うるか」 (in translation: "uruka") are cholic acid and taurocholic acid. The uruka fraction had a higher bitterness discrimination threshold than the standard solution, and the sweetness perceived in the standard solution was not perceived; the paper attributes this to the influence of other unknown components contained in the fraction.
In a 2023 receptor test, the activation threshold for cholic acid was 100 µM for human TAS2R1, 30 µM for TAS2R4, and 300 µM each for TAS2R14 and TAS2R39. Using cells expressing 25 receptors, the threshold was defined, among the concentrations tested, as the concentration at which the difference from the empty-vector control first reached p<0.01; the values are from 3 independent experiments. This is not the threshold at which a human perceives it in the mouth.
A separate 2024 cell test used 0.1, 0.3, and 1 mM cholic acid and reported responses for the 5 receptors TAS2R1, TAS2R4, TAS2R14, TAS2R39, and TAS2R46. This is a result of 3 independent experiments, each run in duplicate, and shown as the mean ± standard error. The test and judgment conditions differ from the previous study, and this too does not represent human sensory evaluation or the bitterness intensity of a food.
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: The bitterness and sweetness discrimination thresholds from the sensory test are adopted. / The inference regarding the principal bitter components is adopted.
Physiological activation of human and mouse bitter taste receptors by bile acids
Checked for this overview: Used for the activation thresholds of the 4 receptors, the screening of 25 receptors, n=3, the threshold definition as the first concentration tested to reach p<0.01, and the qualification that this is a cell test, not a human sensory threshold.
Checked for this overview: Used for the 2024 test's cholic acid concentrations of 0.1, 0.3, and 1 mM, the responses of the 5 human receptors, the 3 independent experiments each run in duplicate, the mean ± standard error, and the qualification that this is a separate test and not human sensory evaluation.
Follow the connections
3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid →is a bitter principle of→ uruka (salted, fermented ayu entrails)
3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid →activates→ TAS2R1
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Sensory (2)
Scope: A 1982 study (standard cholic acid solution, 6 testers)
Show data
compound-cholic-acid —has_bitter_recognition_threshold→ "In a sensory test using a standard cholic acid solution (6 testers), the concentration at which all testers perceived bitterness was 8×10⁻⁴M. Separately from bitterness, the concentration at which sweetness began to be perceived was 32×10⁻⁴M."Scope: The discussion section of the 1982 study
Note: Inferred, together with taurocholic acid, to be a principal bitter component.
Show data
compound-cholic-acid —is_a_bitter_principle_of→ dish-urukaMechanism and receptors (2)
Scope: Ziegler et al. 2023, HEK293T-Gα16gust44 cells, screening of 25 human TAS2Rs, n=3 biologically independent experiments, p<0.01 for the difference from the empty-vector control
Note: A Ca2+ response of cells expressing the receptor. Not the concentration a human perceives in the mouth, a concentration in food, or a perceived intensity. These are values from a functional assay, not a docking result. The object_entity_id connects representatively to TAS2R1, and the other 3 receptors are stated explicitly in the body text.
Show data
compound-cholic-acid —activates→ receptor-tas2r1Scope: Schaefer et al. 2024, HEK293T-Gα16gust44 cells, 3 independent experiments each run in duplicate, mean ± standard error, two-sided t-test p<0.05
Note: An experiment and judgment condition separate from the 2023 test. Not a human sensory test, and no EC50 was calculated for cholic acid. Results for GCA and peptides are not included in this claim.
Show data
compound-cholic-acid —activates→ "A separate 2024 experiment used 0.1, 0.3, and 1 mM cholic acid and reported the Ca2+ mobilization response in cells expressing human TAS2R1, TAS2R4, TAS2R14, TAS2R39, and TAS2R46"