Senomyx is an American biotechnology company working toward developing additives to amplify certain flavors and smells in foods. The company claims to have essentially "reverse engineered" the receptors in humans that react for ta...
See More ste and aroma, and that they are capitalizing on these discoveries to produce chemicals that will make food taste better. Senomyx develops patented flavor enhancers by using "proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems." These receptors have been previously expressed in HEK293 cells.HistorySenomyx was founded by prominent biochemist Lubert Stryer in 1999. In May 2001, Stryer returned to his professorship at Stanford University and resigned from Senomyx, but continues to be the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board.The company developed Substance 951, a potentiator used to amplify the sweetness of sugar in food products, thereby allowing the manufacturer to reduce the amount of sugar used.Senomyx develops patented flavor enhancers by using "proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems." These receptors have been previously expressed in HEK293 cells. HEK stands for human embryonic kidney cells. These cells are derived from cells that originally came from a healthy, electively aborted human fetus in the early 1970s. The receptors in the assay are used to identify flavours; they are not used as flavours themselves. No human taste receptors are used as ingredients in any flavourings. Using information from the human genome sequence, Senomyx has identified hundreds of taste receptors and currently owns 113 patents on their discoveries. Senomyx collaborates with seven of the world's largest food companies to further their research and to fund development of their technology.