Polyphenols Taste Receptors and Satiety: Call for Innovation
From Taste Receptors to Satiety and Food Innovation: Strategic Role of Polyphenols
Why is this an urgent question?
The success of new weight-management therapies has changed the way consumers think about appetite, satiety and metabolic health.
At the same time, the food industry is under growing pressure to move beyond general wellness claims and develop products supported by clear biological mechanisms and measurable effects.
This creates an urgent scientific and industrial question:
Can polyphenols help activate the body’s natural satiety pathways and inspire a new generation of foods for appetite and metabolic health?
Polyphenols are no longer viewed only as antioxidant compounds. Emerging research suggests that some of them may interact with gastrointestinal taste receptors, influence enteroendocrine signalling, modulate hormones such as GLP-1, PYY, CCK and ghrelin, and contribute to appetite regulation, glucose control and metabolic resilience.
However, major questions remain:
- Which polyphenols are the most active?
- Which gastrointestinal receptors do they target?
- Can receptor activation produce measurable satiety in humans?
- Which food formats are the most effective?
- Can these mechanisms be translated into credible products and substantiated claims?
Polyphenols Applications 2026 is launching a dedicated Call for Innovation to identify the most promising answers.
We invite researchers, start-ups, ingredient developers and food-industry innovators to submit new concepts, technologies, prototypes and scientific projects exploring how polyphenols can be translated into new applications.
Priority will be given to innovations addressing:
- gastrointestinal bitter taste receptors, including T2Rs;
- cocoa flavanols, epicatechin and procyanidins;
- catechins, anthocyanins and other bitter polyphenols;
- GLP-1, PYY, CCK, ghrelin and related satiety signals;
- appetite regulation and portion control;
- metabolic health and glucose regulation;
- microbiota-derived polyphenol metabolites;
- targeted intestinal delivery and formulation;
- cell-based assays, organoids and receptor screening;
- human studies on hunger, fullness and food intake;
- functional foods, beverages and nutritional products;
- nutrition before, during or after pharmacological weight-management treatment.
The objective is not to present polyphenols as pharmaceutical substitutes.
The ambition is to identify where they can provide a credible, food-based contribution to satiety, metabolic health and long-term weight-management strategies.
Who should apply?
The call is open to:
- academic research teams;
- food and beverage companies;
- ingredient manufacturers;
- biotechnology companies;
- start-ups and spin-offs;
- clinical research groups;
- contract research organizations;
- formulation and delivery specialists.
Projects may be at an early discovery stage, preclinical validation stage, human trial stage, prototype stage or close to market application.
What should be submitted?
Applicants are invited to provide a concise proposal including:
- Project title
- Scientific or technological concept
- Polyphenol, extract or food matrix investigated
- Biological target or proposed mechanism
- Current evidence
- Potential food, nutrition or metabolic-health application
- Development stage
- Next validation step
- Type of collaboration sought
Recommended length: 300–500 words
One supporting figure, scientific scheme or product image may also be included.
Selected projects
The most promising submissions will be invited to participate in the dedicated congress segment:
- a short oral communication;
- an innovation pitch;
- a scientific poster;
- a prototype presentation;
- an academic–industry collaboration opportunity.
Polyphenols Innovation Award 2026
The most original and promising project will receive the:
The award will recognize an innovation with strong scientific credibility and clear potential for translation into food, nutrition or metabolic-health applications.
Projects will be evaluated according to:
- scientific originality;
- relevance to polyphenol applications;
- quality of supporting evidence;
- clarity of the proposed mechanism;
- translational potential;
- industrial relevance;
- feasibility of development;
- potential impact on consumers and public health.
The award will be officially presented during Polyphenols Applications 2026.
The winning project will benefit from:
- an oral presentation during the congress;
- official award recognition;
- visibility on the congress website and social media;
- promotion through our EureAlert press realease;
- direct exposure to scientific and industrial partners.
Submit your innovation. Help define the next generation of polyphenol applications.
polyphenols[at]polyphenols-site.com
