A Bitter Compound Found in a Common Mushroom
14 April 2025 · Uncategorized ·
You likely won’t find *Amaropostia stiptica* (a common mushroom species) at your local market, but recent scientific discoveries reveal it contains one of the most bitter natural compounds known to humans.
The BitterDB database currently lists over 2400 bitter molecules—most derived from flowering plants or synthesized artificially; only a few originate from animals, bacteria, or fungi. *Amaropostia stiptica*, also referred to as Amaropostica Stiptica, grows on hardwoods and conifers throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Recently, researchers at the Technical University of Munich’s Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry successfully isolated three new bitter compounds from this mushroom and analyzed their structures.
They also studied how these substances affect human taste receptors. In addition to discovering one of the most intensely bitter molecules known—oligoporin D—they found that it activates at least 25 different types of bitterness receptors. Moreover, oligoporin D triggers the Tas2r46 receptor even in extremely low concentrations; this is equivalent to dissolving just a gram into approximately one hundred million bathtubs full of water.
Bitterness receptors serve as an early warning system for potentially harmful substances, but not all bitter compounds are toxic or dangerous. For example, while *Amaropostia stiptica* (the Amaropostica Stiptica mushroom) is non-toxic yet intensely bitter, some highly poisonous mushrooms taste completely bland.
Biochemists believe that careful study of these molecules could help us understand the evolutionary purpose of bitterness and how humans developed the ability to detect it. The more data we collect on types and variations of bitter compounds, the better equipped we will be to use systems biology methods for identifying new substances and predicting their effects mediated by taste receptors.
In the long term, this field may lead to novel applications in food science—such as developing foods that positively impact digestion and satiety. The study was published in *Agricultural and Food Chemistry*.
(First image source: team paper)
The BitterDB database currently lists over 2400 bitter molecules—most derived from flowering plants or synthesized artificially; only a few originate from animals, bacteria, or fungi. *Amaropostia stiptica*, also referred to as Amaropostica Stiptica, grows on hardwoods and conifers throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Recently, researchers at the Technical University of Munich’s Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry successfully isolated three new bitter compounds from this mushroom and analyzed their structures.
They also studied how these substances affect human taste receptors. In addition to discovering one of the most intensely bitter molecules known—oligoporin D—they found that it activates at least 25 different types of bitterness receptors. Moreover, oligoporin D triggers the Tas2r46 receptor even in extremely low concentrations; this is equivalent to dissolving just a gram into approximately one hundred million bathtubs full of water.
Bitterness receptors serve as an early warning system for potentially harmful substances, but not all bitter compounds are toxic or dangerous. For example, while *Amaropostia stiptica* (the Amaropostica Stiptica mushroom) is non-toxic yet intensely bitter, some highly poisonous mushrooms taste completely bland.
Biochemists believe that careful study of these molecules could help us understand the evolutionary purpose of bitterness and how humans developed the ability to detect it. The more data we collect on types and variations of bitter compounds, the better equipped we will be to use systems biology methods for identifying new substances and predicting their effects mediated by taste receptors.
In the long term, this field may lead to novel applications in food science—such as developing foods that positively impact digestion and satiety. The study was published in *Agricultural and Food Chemistry*.
(First image source: team paper)