TAS2R8

TAS2R8 is one of the human bitter taste receptors. A joint research announcement by a company and a university, in which quercitrin — a flavonoid glycoside isolated from green pepper — was administered to cultured cells transfected with 25 human bitter taste receptors, reports that multiple receptors responded; by luminescence measurement, TAS2R8 showed the strongest response, and a strong response was also confirmed for TAS2R38.

What was measured here is the response of cultured cells with heterologous expression, not the bitterness intensity a person experiences when eating green pepper. The announcement is a conference-presentation summary by a company and a university, and a peer-reviewed paper, concentration-response curve, number of repetitions, and statistical values have not been confirmed. Cell response cannot simply be equated with the intensity of human bitterness perception.